GIFT   OF 


OF  HIMSELF 

AND 

OTHER  THINGS 


JAMES  H.  BAKER 


Primely    Pr.nted 
Pr«M  of  Br.df  ord-Robin.on  Printing  Co. 

DENVER 
1922 


Gift 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

This  volume  contains  the  writer's  history  espe- 
cially as  related  to  educational  influences,  his  ex- 
periences with  high  school  and  university,  and  his 
connection  with  certain  important  movements  for 
reform  in  school  and  college.  It  includes  views  in 
the  field  of  education,  politics,  and  philosophy, 
thoughts  on  current  events,  and  opinions  on  world  re- 
construction. The  apology  for  the  venture  is  found 
in  the  introduction.  The  "personal  tributes",  taken 
from  "Appreciation  of  Services'1  issued  by  the  Re- 
gents of  the  University  of  Colorado  in  1914,  would 
be  omitted,  were  the  book  offered  to  the  public;  but, 
since  it  is  privately  printed  for  a  limited  distribution, 
this  matter  is  included  as  an  Appendix.  It  simply 
"completes  the  record,"  as  might  properly  be  done 
were  the  biography  written  by  another  hand.  In  this 
personal  review  certain  ideas  are  frankly  repeated, 
and  some  characteristic  things  in  previous  writings 
are  reproduced  as  classified  extracts.  Call  them  dried 
specimens  together  with  an  aftermath  of  the  first 
crop. 

The  University  Club, 
Denver,  Colorado, 
October  13,  1922. 


515700 


CONTENTS 

I— INTRODUCTION  Page 

Why?    9 

Comment    10 

An  Answer  10 

For  Better  or  Worse? 11 

II— STEREOTYPE  MATTER 

First  Section   14 

New  England  Homes ;  Country  Life 16 

Education    17 

A  Vacation  21 

Early  Teaching  23 

III— GENERAL  INFLUENCES 

Cultural   25 

Political  and  Social 25 

The  Civil  War 26 

IV— A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS 

At  Yarmouth  29 

Maine  and  Colorado 30 

Denver    31 

In  the  Denver  High  School 33 

Matters  Incidental  37 

Informal  Pedagogy    38 

Investigations    40 

Educational  Progress   44 

V— VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION 

Aims   51 

Theories    54 

Influence  of  Bacon  and  Rousseau 58 

Efficiency    59 

Some  Pedagogical  Maxims 60 

Time-Saving   62 

Higher  Pedagogy  65 

Character    .  67 


Page 

Permanent  Values  71 

The  Modern  University 75 

VI— AT  THE  UNIVERSITY 

Note    82 

Some  Traits  82 

Recreation — Mountain  Climbing 83 

Plans  and  Policies 87 

Faculty     94 

Views  of  University  Meanings  and  Methods 97 

Public  Questions   104 

A  Kind  of  Philosophy 106 

Travel    114 

VII— VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;    PHILOSOPHY 

Political     124 

Social   130 

Philosophy    134 

Religion — Freely  Viewed  142 

VIII— PRESENT  STANDPOINTS 

Retirement    149 

Current  History;  the  War 151 

Reconstruction    157 

APPENDIX 

"Introduction"   166 

Letter  of  Resignation 177 

Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Regents 181 

Address  from  the  Faculty 184 

Letters  188 

From  the  Denver  High  School 190 


Of  Himself  and  Otkcr  Tnings 
I  INTRODUCTION. 

Why? 

"Bill  Nye"  used  a  favorite  anecdote  in  his  public 
entertainments.  He  had  a  dog  that  in  his  ramblings 
came  across  a  pail  of  plaster  of  paris  of  the  right 
consistency  for  immediate  use.  He  thought  it 
edible  and  inviting,  and,  since  he  had  never  seen  any 
before,  he  ate  a  good  deal.  The  result  was  "a 
plaster  impression  of  himself,  taken  by  himself,  from 
an  interior  view".  It  may  be  that  no  biography  is 
complete  without  the  interior  as  well  as  the  exterior 
view.  If  "a  different  universe  walks  under  your  hat 
and  mine",  universe  A  may  wish  to  contribute  to  B's 
possible  interpretation  of  A.  It  may  be  presumptuous 
to  suppose  that  B  considers  the  matter  worth  while 
or  even  thinks  about  it  at  all,  and  only  a  great  man 
can  proclaim,  like  Sam  Johnson,  that  he  would  pre- 
vent the  writing  of  his  life  by  taking  the  life  of  the 
suspected  biographer.  If  a  man  writes  his  life 
himself,  he  thereby,  as  it  were,  takes  his  life  in  his 
hands.  Why  write  it,  unless  you  have  a  history  un- 
doubtedly worth  recording?  is  a  natural  question.  But 
minor  values  may  be  worthy  of  a  degree  and  extent 
of  interest.  A  memorandum  of  events  and  thoughts, 
made  by  some  humble  ancestor,  is  treasured  in  the 
family.  A  somewhat  noteworthy  career  reaches  a 
larger  circle.  The  genius  commands  wide  interest. 


10  OF  HlSfeLY  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

Comment 

If  biography  were  limited  to  the  "great  men  I 
have  met"  or  personal  touch  with  political  move- 
ments, to  discoveries  in  science  or  creative  thinking 
in  philosophy,  to  reflections  of  literary  or  poetic 
genius,  the  defendant  could  offer  little  evidence  and 
the  verdict  would  favor  the  possible  reader.  We 
would  turn  only  to  the  Williams  the  Silent,  the  Hux- 
leys,  and  the  Tennysons  for  the  interest,  insight,  and 
influence  which  biography  offers.  If  a  life  has  led  to 
nothing  but  disappointments  and  disillusionments 
and  baffled  hopes,  to  despair  at  the  closed  door  of 
undiscovered  truth,  and  to  sweeping  pessimism,  how- 
ever great  may  have  been  the  man's  opportunities 
and  extent  of  acquaintance,  his  distinction  of  birth 
and  position,  it  should  never  be  recorded.  Surprise 
and  regret  followed  Tennyson's  "Sixty  Years 
After",  because  the  faith  and  hope  of  youth  had  not 
reappeared  in  the  setting  sun.  A  recent  auto- 
biography disappoints,  spite  of  its  original  quality, 
because  of  its  monotonous  minor  key.  Longfellow's 
"Morituri  Salutamus"  and  "Aftermath",  for  their 
sweeter  tone,  are  in  grateful  contrast. 

An  Answer 

In  advancing  years,  one  may  yield  to  pessimism, 
or  fall  into  indifference,  or  write  belated  poetry,  or  be- 
come actively  reminiscent.  The  first  alternative  is  hope- 
less, the  second  deadly,  the  third  futile.  The  last  has  the 
virtue  of  encouraging  mental  longevity,  and  of  giving 


INTRODUCING  i  1 

play  to  whatever  wisdom  may  have  grown  with  the 
years.  It  may  prolong  the  spirit  of  youth,  and  help 
maintain  to  the  end  interest  and  growth.  Then  there 
is  the  hope  that  the  "footprints  on  the  sands  of  time1*, 
made  by  following  the  vision  of  men  of  enduring 
fame,  may  perchance  give  heart  to  another.  Even 
the  bypaths,  self-chosen,  may  have  their  own  rustic 
attraction.  Facts  may  be  told  which  have  a  signifi- 
cance beyond  their  personal  relation,  thoughts  on 
events  at  different  stages  of  the  way  may  be  noted, 
and  a  look  forward  adventured.  So  here  are  some 
facts  in  personal  history,  sorrte  experiences  as  re- 
viewed, some  thoughts  on  what  is  and  what  may  be 
in  the  world  of  change.  Not  an  eventful  life,  perhaps 
little  in  it  worth  while,  but  one  obeys  that  impulse. 
Whatever  of  optimism,  will,  and  growth  is  set  forth 
herein  must  be  the  basis  of  apology.  If  the  reader 
"likes  this  sort  of  thing,  then  this  is  the  sort  of  thing 
he  will  like". 

For  Better  or  Wowe? 

Much  in  the  book  holds  and  defends  the  doc- 
trine of  hope.  The  "Meliorist"  reverences  the  great 
emancipators  of  thought,  the  creators  of  the  "new 
spirit".  He  hails  every  new  prophet,  if  his  message 
has  reason.  He  sees  the  ills  of  the  time  and  looks 
for  healthful  change.  But  he  has  little  sympathy 
with  half  insane  semi-geniuses  who,  however  correct 
in  outline,  paint  all  their  pictures  black.  They  base 
their  philosophy  of  history  on  the  meaner  motives. 
They  see  no  real  progress  in  the  past  and  but  little 


I  2  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

good  in  the  present.  They  pose  as  the  only  lights  in 
a  gloomy  civilization  that  may  give  hope  to  lost 
humanity,  or  dream  of  a  better  world  to  be  reached 
through  revolution.  Change  the  standpoint :  Through- 
out the  ages  the  world  has  progressed  in  freedom  of 
institutions  and  of  thought.  Reactions  against  con- 
ditions are  part  of  the  process,  and  the  integration 
of  the  old  and  the  new  into  something  better — the 
doctrine  of  Hegel.  Whatever  is  spiritually  best  is 
preserved  in  active  or  latent  form,  and  new  visions 
appear.  We  may  believe  that  from  the  present  chaos 
of  after-war  problems  the  world  will  emerge  in 
material  strength  and  power  of  spirit.  Akin  to  the 
painters  of  a  dark  present  are  the  prophets  of  a 
darker  future.  With  crazy  logic  they  group  in  im- 
probable relations  the  elements  of  danger  in  world 
change.  But  not  one  in  a  hundred  menaces  to  peace 
and  progress  is  realized.  The  conserving  instincts 
count  in  resultants.  Then  there  are  the  satires  on 
the  "middle  class" — derisive  of  their  virtues,  culture, 
and  interests.  The  middle  class  stand  between  low- 
class  and  high-class  anarchy,  and  are  the  stable  ele- 
ment of  civilization.  If  not  creative,  they  absorb 
much  of  the  best  culture.  They  represent  in  large 
degree  common  sense,  moral  standards,  sane  criti- 
cism, practical  reform,  and  progressive  aims  toward 
real  goals.  They  hold  with  neither  Puritan  nor 
Greek  but  rather  to  a  "golden  mean".  The  savage  crit- 
ics of  America  figure  in  our  list  of  "undesirables". 
They  see  only  the  harsh  and  grasping  character  of 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

the  Puritan,  only  the  greed  in  enterprise  and  the  slav- 
ery in  labor,  only  the  materialism  in  the  spirit  of  the 
people.  We  would  turn  also  to  our  forefathers'  re- 
ligious faith  and  love  of  liberty  and  to  the  public 
standards  they  gave  to  their  land  of  promise;  to  the 
good  results  of  great  business  and  the  growing 
humaneness  in  its  conduct;  to  the  practical  sympathy 
of  the  public  with  the  just  aims  of  labor.  Then  we 
discover  everywhere  the  transmuting  of  material 
wealth  into  culture  and  reform  and  progress.  Last 
on  the  index  is  the  morbid  psychology  that  only  digs 
at  the  roots  of  the  human  plant  and  ignores  the  blos- 
som and  fruit.  The  fact  that  man  discovers  duty  and 
beauty  and  ideals,  and  struggles  and  aspires  better 
teaches  his  nature  and  destiny. 


II   STEREOTYPE    MATTER. 

First  Section* 

A  farm  sloping  southward  to  a  "pond"f  with  a 
richly  varied  shore  line  and  romantic  islands;  ever- 
green hills  beyond;  "woods"  of  maple  and  beech 
and  birch  bordering  on  a  dense  cedar  growth  carpeted 
with  thick  moss, — these  were  the  surroundings.  A 
grandfather  who  smoked  by  the  fireside  and  talked 
religion  and  told  of  coming  by  "spotted  lines" 
through  the  wilds  to  make  a  pioneer  home;  a  grand- 
mother who  sat  by  the  opposite  corner  and  knit  and 
read  her  Bible;  a  father  with  a  capacious  brain  which, 
trained,  would  have  been  better  suited  to  a  profes- 
sion than  to  farming;  a  mother  compact  of  heart  and 
good  sense  who  has  been  a  lasting  influence, — these 
were  the  immediate  forbears.  Of  course  we  must 
include  the  usual  traditions  of  English  descent,  an 
unclaimed  estate  in  the  Old  Country,  a  revolutionary 
record,  on  the  mother's  side,  and  the  "superior  stock" 
of  the  four  grandparents.  There  may  be  added  the 
uncle  who  "went  to  college",  and  two  great  uncles 
who  were  preachers.  One  of  them  is  remembered 
for  his  odd  ingenuity.  As  the  story  goes,  in  winter 
he  had  a  closed  sleigh  with  a  stove,  and,  as  he  jour- 
neyed from  place  to  place,  his  boy  drove  while  he 
read  his  Greek  and  Hebrew  testaments,  and  enjoined 
silence  on  his  wife.  The  irreverent  youths  called  it 
the  Gospel  Ship. 

*  See  "Introduction"  in  Appendix. 
f  Moose  Pond,  Harmony,  Maine. 


STEREOTYPE  MATTER.  15 

One  of  the  early  recollections  is  of  a  two  weeks' 
trip  my  father  made  by  "ox  sled"  to  a  distant  market 
with  country  produce.  He  returned  with  a  "new- 
fangled" cooking  stove  and  the  plays  of  Shakespeare. 
The  stove  of  course  proved  convenient,  but  was  no 
complete  substitute  for  the  old  fashioned  fireplace 
with  its  huge  back  logs  and  roaring  blaze.  No 
wonder  the  hearth  has  ever  been  held  sacred!  It 
was  always  the  place  of  comfort,  of  companionship, 
of  musings,  of  visions;  always  the  center  of  domestic 
life  where  grew  much  of  the  sentiment  that  formed 
the  family  unity  and  hallowed  the  home;  it  gives 
meaning  to  Payne's  cry  of  the  homeless  wanderer. 
With  the  extinction  of  the  open  wood  fire,  something 
has  been  lost  to  civilization  which  modern  conven- 
iences do  not  fully  offset.  For  the  Shakespeare,  my 
father  made  an  ingenious  book-rest  with  the  right 
slant  and  lateral  angle,  and  of  evenings,  with  great 
delight  to  himself,  would  read  aloud  to  a  willing  or 
an  unwilling  audience.  A  neighbor  inquired  if 
Shakespeare  was  still  living,  and  another,  evidently 
fearing  the  influence  of  the  plays  on  me,  said  "them 
novels"  were  bad  for  boys.  At  that  time  I  was  test- 
ing my  knowledge  of  the  alphabet  on  the  name  and 
make  of  the  new  stove. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  when  Gen- 
eral Scott  was  Commander-in-Chief,  my  father 
chanced  to  read  to  a  visitor  a  reference  to  the  "Dred 
Scott  Decision".  Not  versed  in  political  history, 
but  feeling  that  the  occasion  called  for  comment,  the 


1 6  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

visitor  said,  "I  tell  you  they  dread  Scott,  them  rebels, 
don't  they  ?" 

New  England  Homes;  Country  Life 

The  New  England  homes  of  seventy  years  ago, 
with  their  tempered  Puritan  traditions,  middle-class 
virtues,  and  mental  furniture  acquired  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  the  academies,  were  of  a  type  that 
may  not  reappear.  They  are  depleted  by  migration 
to  western  soil  or  to  the  cities,  and  old  lines  of  de- 
scent are  partly  replaced  by  later  comers  from  for- 
eign lands.  One  town  in  mind,  first  peopled  by  New 
England  stock,  is  now  governed  by  Canadian  French. 
Here  the  factory  employees  were  supplanted  by  the 
Irish;  then  followed  the  French,  and  later  other  im- 
migrants. This  is  given  merely  as  a  record  of 
change.  Naturally  one  harks  back  to  the  familiar 
New  England  home  which  at  its  best  could  be  de- 
scribed only  by  the  hand  that  wrote  the  "Cotter's 
Saturday  Night",  or1  "Snowbound".  The  people 
had  turned  forests  into  farms;  they  gave  "home"  a 
sacred  meaning,  were  educated,  and  led  in  the  main 
sane  and  healthful  lives,  healthful  for  body  and  soul ; 
they  had  strong  faith  and  moral  courage;  they  gave 
the  nation  many  of  its  public  ideals.  The  child  is 
first  educated  by  his  natural  and  social  surroundings. 

To  one  familiar  with  "the  orchard,  the  meadow, 
the  deep  tangled  wildwood",  in  reality  as  well  as  in 
song,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  deep  influence  of  the 
scenes  amid  which  grow  the  first  ideas  and  emotions. 


STEREOTYPE  MATTER.  17 

We  endorse  old  Plato's  doctrine  of  "types'1  and  the 
correspondence  between  subjective  and  objective — 
the  growth  of  the  soul  by  reading  in  nature  the  rich 
and  varied  ideas  of  order  and  beauty.  In  childhood, 
as  in  the  infancy  of  peoples,  the  groves  are  sacred 
and  the  leaves  whisper  mysterious  things.  The  oak 
speaks  of  strength,  the  willow  of  sorrow,  the  sky  of 
sublimity,  the  flower  of  beauty.  There  is  a  sense  of 
a  living  spirit  in  the  springing  dawn,  the  flowing 
stream,  or  the  moving  clouds.  In  the  dusky  wood 
the  owl  proclaims  tragedy.  At  times  "nature  as- 
sumes a  voice,  every  sound  becomes  prophetic,  in 
the  moonlight  of  the  imagination  the  curtains  of 
mystery  sway  and  shift,  a  realm  of  the  mind  is  dis- 
closed beyond  the  limits  of  category."  Aside  from 
the  effect  of  nature's  forms  and  moods,  there  are 
practical  meanings  for  the  boy  in  country  life.  He 
has  a  varied  course  in  manual  training,  can  turn  his 
hand  to  many  things,  and  gains,  under  healthful 
conditions,  the  simple  ideas  that  are  the  elements  of 
civilization.  Of  these  early  memories  a  few  things 
as  now  seen  stand  forth  in  importance :  the  influence 
of  my  mother,  the  New  England  life  favorable  to 
slow  strong  growth,  the  many  forms  of  scenic  beauty 
awakening  poetic  feeling,  and  the  interest  in  work 
ever  varied  as  it  was  with  the  needs  and  the  seasons. 

Education 

Here  is  a  "movie"  of  the  memory:  a  little  red 
school  house  on  a  corner — a  boy  being  driven  to 


1 8  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

school  the  first  day — his  wild  retreat  when  his  too 
sympathetic  mother  had  turned  homeward — his  final 
capture  and  induction — hours  of  idly  waiting  for  at- 
tention and  the  school  pabulum — final  recourse  to 
the  doughnuts,  cheese,  and  bottle  of  milk  in  his  calico 
dinner  bag.  Thus  began  my  formal  education,  evi- 
dence, of  course,  of  an  early  desire  for  knowledge 
and  an  awakening  ambition,  signs  of  a  precocious 
mind.  We  who  look  back  on  the  common  school 
of  those  days  see  these  advantages :  home  manual  and 
industrial  training,  self-reliance,  free  choice,  indi- 
vidual method,  a  kind  of  selective  absorption  in  place 
of  uniform  drill  and  examination,  unrestricted  ad- 
vancement. For  the  ambitious  pupil  twenty  weeks 
in  the  year  meant  as  much  as  forty  to  the  average 
pupil  in  the  graded  school  today.  At  fourteen  he  was 
ready  for  the  academy  and  studies  of  high-school 
grade.  It  may  be  that  school  progress  today  is  in 
part  a  return  to  the  earlier  methods  of  freedom. 

This  is  the  place  to  mention  a  phase  of  my  edu- 
cation. Self-instruction  was  the  method;  these  were 
the  material:  the  Bible  and  Shakespeare  and  Foxe's 
Book  of  Martyrs,  the  "Essay  on  Man",  a  Greek 
grammar  and  a  classical  dictionary  discovered  in  an 
uncle's  old  trunk,  a  brief  history  of  the  world,  and 
later  Pope's  translation  of  the  Iliad  and  Macaulay's 
History  of  England.  This  informal  course  was 
worth  more  than  the  literature  and  history  of  the 
schools,  and  the  spontaneous  interest  was  a  happy 
substitute  for  some  of  the  formal  methods  that  make 


STEREOTYPE  MATTER.  19 

pupils  forever  forswear  those  subjects.  History  and 
literature  should  be  read  and  discussed  and  thought 
about,  not  "learned". 

The  private  country  academy  was  the  school  of 
college  preparation  and  of  liberal  education  for  the 
many.  Here  was  the  same  freedom  as  in  the  com- 
mon school,  and  one  man  certainly  looks  back  with 
gratitude  for  its  opportunities.  He  finds  it  pleasant 
to  recall  the  hardships,  even  the  "self-boarding"  with 
fare  occasionally  reduced  to  porridge  with  salt.  The 
Latin  School  attached  to  a  college  gave  the  writer 
his  first  experience  in  drill  and  accurate  scholarship, 
and  it  was  a  needed  element  in  his  education.  If  the 
methods  of  classical  study  then  in  vogue  took  only 
passing  notice  of  the  beauty  of  style,  the  records  of 
heroic  deeds,  and  the  expression  of  universal  truths, 
contained  in  ancient  literature,  they  cultivated  atten- 
tion and  judgment,  the  weighing  of  all  the  elements 
that  might  affect  the  place  and  meaning  of  a  word, 
and  hence  gave  a  training  in  the  scientific  method  and 
in  business  habits. 

We  come  to  the  college  (1869),  a  small  de- 
nominational institution.*  It  had  an  able  but  small 
faculty  whose  teaching  energy  was  scattered  over  too 
many  subjects — they  occupied  "settees  instead  of 
chairs".  The  curriculum  was  fixed  and  its  founda- 
tion was  Greek,  Latin,  mathematics,  and  philosophy, 
to  which  was  added  considerable  in  modern  subjects. 
The  philosophy  was  orthodox,  and  as  in  most  col- 


*  Bates  College,  Lewiston,  Maine. 


20  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

leges  limited  enough  to  forever  dwarf  one's  im- 
mortal soul — a  fault  of  the  time  and  not  of  the  pro- 
fessor whom  I  remember  with  reverence.  But  from 
the  course  came  a  survey  of  science,  literature,  and 
economics,  some  ability  to  think  and  a  great  ambition 
to  do,  a  sense  of  power  and  many  clear  ideals.  Look- 
ing back,  do  I  have  regret  for  the  kind  of  general 
education  I  thus  obtained?  The  answer  must  be, 
uNo,  rather  appreciation  and  gratitude  for  the 
mental  and  spiritual  foundation  which  it  laid". 
These  four  years  inspired  the  views,  which  later  were 
set  forth  in  public  utterances,  of  the  value  of  "gen- 
eral education",  the  glory  of  Greece,  the  vision  and 
the  beauty  of  Plato's  philosophy,  the  importance  of 
a  harmonious  development  of  the  powers,  the  qual- 
ity of  the  impulses  that  reach  out  toward  the  truth 
and  beauty  and  goodness  of  the  world.  I  believed  the 
great  men  and  the  great  events  of  ancient  history  set 
the  goal  for  human  endeavor,  the  literature  and  the 
mythology  were  cultural,  the  universal  truths  were 
guides  toward  wisdom.  I  saw  that  mathematics  was 
a  training  in  perfect  reasoning,  that  grammar  and 
translation  gave  an  accuracy  and  an  ingenuity  ap- 
plicable in  practical  business,  that  logic  was  a  safe- 
guard against  common  fallacies.  It  must  here  be 
noted,  as  will  appear  elsewhere,  that  I  later  fully  recog- 
nized the  meaning  and  place  of  science,  and  accept  and 
strongly  advocate  the  present  aim  to  readapt  educa- 
tion to  individual  and  social  needs.  But  the  vision 
once  seen  can  never  be  wholly  forgotten ;  we  can  only 


STEREOTYPE  MATTER.  2 1 

ope  that  the  education  of  the  future,  even  the  most 
ractical,  may  be  everywhere  permeated  by  a  sense  of 
ic  "higher  values". 

A  Vacation 

A  summer  vacation  in  the  middle  of  the  college 
ourse  found  two  of  us,  classmates,  on  a  walking  ex- 
ursion  to  Quebec.  We  were  "the  long  one  and  the 
hort  one1',  and  the  contrast  constantly  excited  the 
Canadian  sense  of  humor.  It  was  not  a  tour  de 
ixe,  since  the  expense,  all  included,  was  a  dollar  a 
ay  for  each.  The  weary  miles  with  crippled  feet, 
tie  optimism,  following  the  dark  moods  of  ex- 
austion,  found  in  a  plate  of  ham  and  eggs,  the 
ilarious  Jehu  who  gave  us  a  "lift"  and  at  every  pro- 
jst  against  the  breakneck  speed  shouted  more  loud- 
V  "a  Kebek,  Sharlee",  the  quaint  sights  of  the  city, 
he  many  "parasangs"  of  the  first  day's  return,  the 
nlimited  exchange  of  personalities  when  utterly 
rearied,  seeking  rest  and  sleep  in  a  haymow  to  be 
riven  forth  by  savage  dogs  and  more  savage 
"Yenchmen, — these  are  some  of  the  trivial  things 
tat  persist  in  memory. 

At  Moose  River,  we  built  a  box,  misnamed  ua 
oat",  and  started  on  a  journey  by  lake  and  river  to 
be  sea  and  up  the  Androscoggin  to  Lewiston — a 
ourney  never  completed  because  natural  impossibil- 
ries  were  more  conclusive  than  our  logic.  That  we 
?ere  not  drowned  can  be  explained  only  by  the  view 
hat  providence  intervened  for  some  inscrutable 


22  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

reason,  or  that  we  were  miraculously  reserved  for 
worse  fate.  "Portages"  through  thickets  and  ove 
fallen  trees,  wrecks  in  rapids  whirling  white  betwee 
rocks,  "shooting"  a  succession  of  waterfalls,  plun^ 
ing  through  a  dam,  literally  (at  the  outlet  of  Moos 
Head  Lake  timbers  had  been  removed  from  th 
middle  of  one  section  of  the  dam  leaving  a  fall  c 
about  six  feet) ,  failure  to  pass  at  once  on  both  side 
of  a  rock  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Kennebec,  wer 
incidents  of  the  way.  On  one  of  a  chain  of  lakes  w 
had  put  up  a  mast  with  our  only  blanket  for  a  sai 
The  lake  was  in  a  setting  of  primeval  forest,  pin 
and  hemlock  and  spruce.  We  were  feeling  the  sol 
tude  and  solemn  grandeur,  and  were  somewhat  homi 
sick.  Suddenly  we  heard  weird  music,  rising,  falling 
dying,  approaching,  receding,  and  we  were  becomin 
superstitious,  when  we  discovered  that  the  fishlim 
used  as  a  stay  rope,  in  the  varying  breeze  had  becom 
an  Aeolian  harp!  The  crude  sailing  device,  in 
gale  later,  nearly  turned  the  trip  into  an  unending  v; 
cation. 

The  next  stage,  after  the  incident  of  wrecking  c 
a  rock,  saw  us  aboard  two  bateaux  going  down  t 
Indian  Pond.  uThe  short  one",  assigned  to  th 
leading  boat,  in  sheer  ignorance  and  vanity,  too 
command,  and  at  a  portage  ordered  the  crew ,  t 
shoot  the  waterfall.  They  struck  on  a  ledge  an 
were  saved  from  a  wet  death  by  the  timely  arriv; 
of  our  boat.  A  night  in  camp,  a  day  through  th 
forest,  a  luncheon  of  partridge,  trout,  bread,  an 


STEREOTYPE  MATTER.  23 

bacon,  and  we  reached  a  "settlement",  whence  we 
proceeded  to  friends,  food,  money,  and  safety.  The 
experience  was  equalled  only  by  that  of  a  classmate 
who,  on  a  trip  into  the  northern  wilderness,  lost  all 
his  clothes  by  abandoning  in  midlake  an  unman- 
ageable raft  and  swimming  ashore  in  a  panic  fear. 
He  faced  a  trip  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
through  the  woods,  and  then  faced  civilization. 

Early   Teaching 

My  first  teaching  experience  was  gained  in  five 
country  and  village  schools,  one  family  school,  and 
as  the  head  of  two  academies.  This  extended  from 
about  1866  to  college  graduation,  1873.  As  with 
many  students,  the  teaching  was  merely  incidental  to 
the  main  purpose  of  "getting  an  education",  and  was 
periodic  and  vagrant,  a  term  each  winter  here  and 
there.  Too  often  in  those  days  in  Maine  the  school- 
master learned  to  teach  by  teaching.  Few  had 
"Normal"  preparation,  and  many  had  never  seen  an 
"Institute".  Teacher-training  was  held  to  be  some- 
thing of  a  fad.  The  traditions  of  the  birch  and  the 
ruler  still  held  partial  sway,  and,  if  the  beginner  tried 
new  methods,  he  was  sometimes  driven  to  severity  by 
the  criticisms  of  the  "Committee".  Thirty-five  so- 
called  classes  a  day  in  an  ungraded  school  made  ef- 
fective teaching  impossible.  Like  the  teacher  who 
was  "successful"  because  the  schoolhouse  remained 
intact  at  the  close  of  the  term,  the  writer  was  suc- 
cessful at  least  thus  far — he  was  never  "carried  out" 


24  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

by  the  outraged  pupils,  and  always  "kept  the  term 
through".  The  two  academies  with  older  pupils  and 
fewer  classes  gave  opportunity  for  work  that  may  be 
remembered  with  a  larger  degree  of  satisfaction.  In 
one  of  these  academies  traditions  still  remained  of 
the  abilities  and  eccentricities  of  my  "college'*  uncle 
who  had  taught  there  a  generation  before. 


Ill  GENERAL  INFLUENCES. 

Cultural 

The  "lyceum  lectures",  now  unhappily  decadent 
or  extinct,  were  educational  in  the  larger  sense. 
Holmes,  Hale,  Phillips,  Greeley,  Sumner  gave  me 
glimpses  into  the  literary  and  political  world.  Long- 
fellow's poems,  "The  Biglow  Papers"  were  cultural 
— representing  values  not  readily  appreciated  today. 
The  "Gary  concerts",  Booth's  Hamlet,  perhaps  also 
the  "Black  Crook",  were  an  introduction  to  fine  art. 
These  "studies",  mostly  in  the  college  period,  were 
as  meaningful  to  the  growing  imagination  as  was  the 
glory  of  the  Renaissance  to  an  awakening  world. 
They  appealed  not  merely  as  something  new  to  green 
youth;  they  were  revealing.  Call  <the  revelation 
fancy,  insight,  a  sense  of  the  poetry  of  things,  or  a 
vision  of  beauty  and  universal  truths,  it  makes  the 
difference  between  the  inert  and  the  creative  mind. 
Youthful  enthusiasms  make  spiritual  growth — 
usually  not  understood  or  not  rightly  valued.  The 
power  to  see  much  in  the  commonplace  is  the  way  to 
philosophy,  to  poetry,  to  discovery  in  science,  and 
even  to  success  in  large  business.  Unnecessary  repe- 
tition of  trite  thoughts,  did  not  so  many  today  sit  in 
the  seat  of  the  scornful,  the  worldly-wise,  and  the 
cynical. 

Political  and  Social 

The  age  when  I  began  to  absorb,  more  or  less 
consciously,  political  and  social  thought  fell  in  the 


26  OF   HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

sixties  and  somewhat  beyond.  This  period  saw  the 
"emancipation"  in  the  United  States,  the  unification 
of  Italy  and  of  Germany,  the  Third  French  Republic. 
It  was  a  period  of  growing  democracy  in  England 
and  of  attempts  to  do  justice  to  Ireland;  a  period  of 
increasing  demands  and  more  extended  organization 
of  labor.  To  a  boy  in  the  peace  and  seclusion  of  the 
country,  the  world  seemed  stable.  Startling  change 
was  not  conceived.  He  went  to  "meetings"  Sun- 
days and  reverenced  the  God  of  his  fathers.  Great 
movements  were  remote  in  place  and  interest.  But 
news  and  opinions  came  weekly  through  the  New 
York  Tribune.  Bright,  Gladstone,  Garibaldi,  Phil- 
lips, Garrison,  were  familiar  names  and  represented 
a  wealth  of  liberal  ideas.  Daily  contact  at  my  home 
with  sympathy  for  Ireland,  and  with  anti-slavery 
sentiment  permanently  fixed  certain  attitudes.  The 
struggle  of  Italy  for  freedom  and  unity  seemed 
glorious,  partly  because  of  the  "glory  that  was 
Rome".  Great  labor  troubles  did  not  reach  us.  Such 
as  we  had  were  limited  to  the  "hired  hand",  the 
vagrant  out  of  a  job  and  seeking  winter  shelter,  and 
the  itinerant  preacher.  We  did  not  foresee  the  men- 
ace of  the  new  German  Empire  or  the  deep  meaning 
of  growing  democracy  in  France  and  England 
which  in  the  political  vicissitudes  of  a  few  decades 
would  align  the  nations  against  that  menace. 

The  Ciril  War 

Measuring  events  in  terms  of  individual  growth, 
the   Civil  War  was  a  vital  course  in  history  and 


GENERAL    INFLUENCES.  2^ 

political  ethics.  From  Harpers  Ferry  to  Appomat- 
tox,  every  event  was  burned  into  my  soul — the  battles 
that  were  decisive,  the  final  victory,  the  blackness 
when  the  nation  was  called  to  weep  for  its  martyred 
President.  The  issues  of  that  day  have  long  been 
settled,  and  the  nation  has  reached  a  spiritual  in- 
tegrity firmer  than  in  its  pre-war  history.  The  out- 
come of  the  Civil  War  was  another  step  toward  uni- 
versal freedom,  a  stage  in  the  growth  of  public  con- 
science, a  spiritual  preparation  for  America's  decis- 
ive part  in  the  world  struggle  to  come  a  half  century 
later.  The  exalted  feeling  of  that  period  was  re- 
corded in  enduring  type  in  the  Battle  Hymn  of  the 
Republic,  that  song  of  sublime  faith  set  forth  in 
bold  metaphors  like  lightning  flashes  and  thunder 
peals.  This  extract  from  an  address  by  the  writer 
on  a  "Decoration  Day"  recalls  some  of  the  senti- 
ment of  the  war  period. 

I  was  too  young  to  enter  the  service  of  the  na- 
tion during  our  Civil  War,  but,  living  in  New 
England  in  an  atmosphere  of  intense  patriotism 
and  of  almost  religious  belief  in  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  cause,  I  could  but  receive  impres- 
sions that  became  a  part  of  my  very  being.  I 
remember  how  the  very  air  seemed  vibrant  in 
sympathy  with  the  heartbeats  of  a  great  people 
aroused  in  defense  of  the  vital  principle  of  the 
nation's  existence.  I  saw  young  men,  the  flower 
of  the  community,  go  forth  to  battle,  the  most 
of  them  never  to  return.  I  exulted  with  the 


28  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

news  of  victory,  or  was  depressed  with  rumors 
of  defeat,  was  thrilled  by  the  tragic  events  of 
the  closing  days  of  the  conflict.  To  you, 
memorial  exercises  are  a  requiem  for  the  dead 
and  a  solemn  anthem  in  gratitude  for  victory. 
Men  hardly  understand  the  significance  of  a 
country  saved  in  unity  and  strength  as  a  herit- 
age for  the  coming  generations.  It  means  the 
preservation  of  the  greatest  missionary  power 
of  the  world,  the  success  of  the  greatest  experi- 
ment of  advancing  civilization.  America  has  a 
mission  that  reaches  back  to  the  peoples  of 
Europe  and  extends  through  the  Golden  Gate 
to  the  inert  nations  of  Asia.*****  Like  the  band 
of  Spartans  that  devoted  themselves  to  Greece 
and  death,  and,  as  their  numbers  gradually 
thinned,  gathered  upon  a  hillock  and  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  till  the  last  man  fell,  may 
you,  with  thinning  ranks,  still  stand  bravely  for 
all  that  makes  the  life  and  glory  of  our  Republic. 
When  all  is  ended,  may  a  noble  legend  to  your 
loyalty,  as  appears  in  honor  of  the  Spartans  at 
Thermopylae,  be  inscribed  on  the  Republic's 
monument  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 


IV   A   SKETCH   OF  TWENTY   YEARS. 

At  Yarmouth 

On  leaving  college  I  had  no  definite  plan  of  life 
wqrk.  Teaching  was  the  means  of  paying  debts  and 
getting  a  start,  perhaps  "Law"  was  to  be  the  later 
aim.  In  1873  Maine  offered  a  subsidy  to  towns  es- 
tablishing high  schools.  Yarmouth,  amongst  others, 
used  the  opportunity,  and  here  was  an  opening. 
Yarmouth  was  a  village-by-the-sea,  settled  by  "sea 
captains  and  graduates  of  Bowdoin",  beautiful  in 
scenery,  and  attractive  with  its  white-painted  green- 
shuttered  houses  and  its  elm  rows.  It  was  the  seat 
of  an  academy,  then  discontinued,  whose  buildings 
the  new  high  school  occupied.  There  was  my  first 
experience  in  forming  and  conducting  a  graded 
course.  The  philosophy  received  in  the  college  years 
which  had  the  deepest  influence  came  from  a  pro- 
fessor who  often  laid  aside  his  book  for  a  spontane- 
ous  informal  lecture  on  character  and  life.  He  had 
impressed  us  with  the  view  that  laziness  is  the  great 
sin  and  work  the  means  of  salvation.  This  idea  was 
applied  in  the  school — it  is  to  be  feared  with  injus- 
tice to  some  struggling  pupils — but  it  changed  the 
traditions  transmitted  from  the  old  academy  toward 
strenuous  study.  Here  came  as  a  surprise  the  first 
personal  proof  that  there  is  a  danger  limit  to  work; 
it  followed  application  for  a  good  part  of  twenty- 
four  hours  to  a  certain  problem1 — a  warning  only 
partly  heeded.  Preparation  for  the  next  day's  duties 


30  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

usually  ended  about  midnight,  and  recreation  often 
consisted  in  excursions  after  that  hour  through  snow- 
drifts and  in  the  darkness  of  a  dense  pine  grove  at 
the  risk  of  a  broken  neck  in  some  deep  ravine.  In 
autumn  the  recreation  was  varied  by  runs  across 
country  to  the  sea  and  revelling  in  the  gold  and 
purple  of  New  England  Octobers.  Two  years  of 
this  life  brought  this  medical  advice,  "Go  West,  find 
the  best  climate  possible,  dig  a  hole,  get  into  it  and 
stay  there ;  you  can  do  your  life  work  in  any  location". 
The  experience  in  Yarmouth  was  the  foundation  for 
whatever  success  came  later. 

Maine  and  Colorado 

Harmony  of  mind  with  familiar  surroundings  is 
a  beneficent  growth.  The  Arab  loves  the  desert,  the 
Tartar  the  steppes,  the  American  of  the  West  the 
prairies  and  plains,  as  the  Swiss  loves  lakes  and  moun- 
tains, the  New  Englander  variegated  scenery,  and 
the  Coloradoan  ranges  and  peaks.  It  may  be  from 
prejudice  that  I  rejoice  to  have  been  reared  in  Maine 
and  to  live  in  Colorado.  I  would  live  near  the  sea 
or  forests  or  mountains.  I  remember  Maine  for  its 
wooded  landscapes  and  rugged  coast,  for  its  farms 
and  sturdy  "middle  class";  am  proud  of  its  Anglo- 
Saxon  heritage  and  pioneer  history.  Its  schools, 
academies,  and  colleges  were  strong  in  character  and 
influence.  It  is  a  birthplace  of  poets  and  a  mother 
of  statesmen,  such  men  as  Hamlin,  the  Washburns, 
Fessenden,  Elaine,  Frye,  Reed,  and  Dingley. 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  3! 

Colorado  soon  became  an  acquired  habit  and  a 
second  nature.  Vastness  was  in  the  plains  and  gran- 
deur in  the  mountains.  Hope  and  promise  were  in 
the  minds  of  men  like  Gilpin,  Evans,  and  Hunt.  Some 
foresaw  the  agriculture,  the  institutions,  and  the  civil- 
ization that  were  to  be.  For  health  or  for  hopeful 
adventure  men  of  brains  and  culture,  men  of  muscle 
and  courage,  a  "natural  selection,"  came  to  the 
Rockies.  Even  in  the  days  of  depression,  about  1875, 
there  was  a  stirring  atmosphere,  a  feeling  of  demo- 
cratic freedom,  a  stimulus  from  the  people  who 
came  by  many  routes  and  mingled  here.  It  was  a 
privilege  to  be  in  at  the  re-awakening — the  time  of 
fresh  mineral  discoveries,  growing  skill  in  agricul- 
ture, increasing  population,  new  towns,  development 
of  schools  from  the  log  house  and  primer  period  to 
that  of  modern  architecture  and  superior  standards. 
Here  was  colonial  history  of  the  best  type.  The  mind 
of  Colorado  developed  with  its  material  growth.  Its 
citizens,  at  first  devoted  to  individual  struggle,  later 
learned  the  need  of  community  interest  and  public 
spirit.  Education  has  followed  the  best  progress  else- 
where and  even  led  in  important  national  move- 
ments. Much  might  be  said  of  Colorado  from  per- 
sonal knowledge,  but  that  is  another  story. 

Denver 

To  a  mind  furnished  with  an  assortment  of  New 
England  traditions  and  provincial  ideas  crowding  on 
some  general  truths,  "Denver  City"  indeed  was  "out 
West."  Here  was  a  town  with  a  population  of  about 


32  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

15,000,  on  a  treeless  plain  sweeping  far  eastward, 
green  or  purple  or  gray  or  white  with  the  seasons, 
facing  a  two-hundred-mile  panorama  of  mountains, 
settled  from  many  sections  of  the  country  by  men 
and  women  who  at  least  had  the  energy  to  move.  The 
centering  of  people  from  many  states — and  from  some 
foreign  countries — who  expressed  various  ideas  in 
different  dialects  made  Denver  cosmopolitan.  South- 
erners were  not  irredeemable  rebels,  the  Indians  wore 
no  scalps  at  their  belts,  the  dealer  in  "strong  spirits" 
was  often  an  educated,  patriotic,  progressive,  and 
otherwise  excellent  citizen,  the  Episcopalian  was  not 
as  painted  by  dissenters,  and  the  Catholic  Church  was 
not  the  Beast  with  many  horns.  You  could  shake 
hands  familiarly  with  real  live  governors,  and  meet 
celebrities  who  paused  here  in  their  transcontinental 
flights.  This  date,  1875,  marked  a  period  between 
the  early  mining  excitement  and  the  new  Leadville  dis- 
coveries and  renewed  agricultural  interest.  No  one 
knew  whether  the  city  would  survive;  no  one  would 
build  or  buy;  only  a  few  prominent  men  who  could 
think  largely  predicted  the  Colorado  of  today,  proph- 
ets who  are  now  honored  in  Colorado's  history. 

The  two  following  incidents  occurring  some  years 
later  are  pertinent.  Meeting  in  the  club  of  a  noted 
Eastern  university  some  professors,  the  writer  was 
questioned  in  a  patronizing  way  regarding  the  status 
of  education,  woman  suffrage,  and  the  degree  of  civil- 
ization in  Colorado.  Finally  resentment  at  the 
"quizzing"  called  forth  the  reply — of  course  there 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  33 

more  politely  expressed :  You  are  doing  the  best  you 
can  in  your  university,  but  are  hampered  by  old  tra- 
ditions. If  you  wish  to  see  an  up-to-date  university, 
adapted  to  the  spirit  and  need  of  the  times,  come  out 
West.  To  liberal  thinkers  who  understand  present 
progress,  woman  suffrage  in  all  the  states  appears  in- 
evitable. The  "wild  and  woolly"  of  Denver  are  peo- 
ple who  know  the  East  and  its  culture  and  besides 
the  West.  They  are  cosmopolitan;  you  are  provin- 
cial and  have  much  to  learn.  At  a  banquet  in  Denver 
of  the  alumni  of  an  Eastern  college,  a  speaker  said  all 
the  graduates  of  Colorado  high  schools  should  go 
East  for  their  education.  Called  upon  by  the  chair- 
man to  respond  to  the  toast,  Why  I  have  a  Right  to 
Exist,  the  way  was  obvious:  I  endorse  the  idea  of 
going  East  for  higher  education ;  there  would  be  some 
advantages.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  all  Eastern  sec- 
ondary graduates  should  come  to  Colorado,  where 
they  would  expand  their  lungs,  gain  stronger  bodies 
and  brighter  brains,  get  rid  of  their  narrow  provin- 
cialism, and  receive  an  education,  amid  democratic 
influences,  suited  to  the  time.  I  propose  a  bureau 
of  exchange  to  effect  this  beneficent  plan. 

In  the  Denver  High  School 

Denver  had  a  completely  graded  school  system 
from  which  many  things  were  to  be  learned.  The 
Superintendent,  Aaron  Gove,  was  a  man  trained  in 
the  science  and  methods  of  teaching,  thoroughly 
versed  in  his  profession,  conservative  and  at  the  same 
time  original,  wise  and  prudent,  largely  responsible 


34  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

for  Colorado's  school  laws,  in  the  constitutional  con- 
vention and  after,  a  man  in  the  councils  of  great  edu- 
cators, and  later  a  President  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association.  What  was  due  to  him  became 
clearer  with  the  years,  and  I  passed  nearly  seventeen  in 
close  relation  to  him,  as  Principal  of  the  High  School. 
Rigid  grading  and  fixed  courses  were  the  rule  of  the 
day  in  most  cities.  The  High  School  had  a  classical 
and  a  general  course.  Mental  discipline  and  power 
through  knowledge  were  the  aims,  but  a  fair  attitude 
was  maintained  as  between  traditional  studies  and 
the  sciences.  The  school  gained  a  good  standing  with 
the  great  universities  in  the  East,  and  we  may  believe 
made  a  record  in  general  which  is  still  the  pride  of 
many  graduates  of  those  days.  Naturally  its  courses 
and  methods  were  suggestive  to  many  new  high 
schools  in  smaller  Colorado  towns.  Spite  of  its  rigid- 
ity, perhaps  because  of  it,  a  large  percentage  of  the 
entrants  completed  the  course,  and  the  proportion  of 
boys  was  well  above  the  average.  Though  it  lacked 
the  flexibility  of  the  modern  high  school,  it  had  the 
advantage  of  definite  studies  seriously  pursued.  In 
other  matters  such  as  debating  societies,  a  military 
company,  and  a  graduates'  association,  and  in  general 
pride  and  spirit,  the  school  was  distinctive. 

In  the  Report  of  the  Denver  School  Survey,  1916, 
Prof.  Charles  H.  Judd  gives  considerable  space  to  the 
High  School.  As  seen  after  so  many  years  of  change 
in  the  school  world,  by  a  distinguished  educator,  the 
view  will  be  of  interest: 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  35 

"Influence  of  the  East  Side  High  School.  An- 
other impressive  fact  which  is  faced  at  every  turn  is 
the  large  influence  which  is  exercised,  and  was  exer- 
cised even  before  the  period  of  consolidation,  by  the 
East  Side  High  School.  This  school  was  established 
in  1873.  It  became  very  shortly  after  its  establish- 
ment one  of  the  leading  high  schools  of  the  country. 
One  of  its  early  principals,  Dr.  James  H.  Baker,  after- 
wards president  of  the  State  University,  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  discussion  of  high-school  problems  in 
the  National  Education  Association,  and  was  recog- 
nized as  a  leader  among  the  high-school  principals  of 
the  country.  Dr.  William  H.  Smiley,  who  succeeded 
Dr.  Baker,  was  also  prominent  in  national  educational 
circles.  Both  of  these  men  were  associated  with  the 
committee  which  in  the  early  '90*8  did  much  to  organ- 
ize high  schools,  namely  the  Committee  of  Ten.  Dr. 
Baker  was  a  member  of  the  general  committee,  and 
Dr.  Smiley  was  a  member  of  the  subcommittee  on 
Greek.  Students  went  from  this  school  to  the  chief 
universities  of  the  country  and  maintained  themselves 
with  high  rank  in  these  institutions.  Many  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  the  city  of  Denver  are  graduates  of 
the  East  Side  High  School.  That  school  enjoyed  a 
prestige  which  made  it  the  natural  example  of  all  of 
the  other  schools  which  were  organized  later.  The 
course  of  study  in  this  school  was  from  the  first  a 
rigorous,  disciplinary  course,  dominated  by  literary 
and  classical  interests.  The  issue  between  science  and 
the  classics  was  clearly  drawn  even  in  the  early  years 
of  the  East  Side  High  School's  history,  but  the  vie- 


36  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

tory  has  always  been  with  the  literary  subjects.  A 
quotation  from  Dr.  Baker's  first  report  in  1876 
throws  light  on  this  matter:  'In  that  department  of 
the  high  school  which  is  preparatory  for  college  we 
have  no  power  of  choice.  The  course  is  determined 
by  the  requirements  of  the  colleges  and  to  those  re- 
quirements we  must  conform.  When  they  shall  have 
more  sympathy  with  the  public  schools,  changes  if  de- 
sired may  be  made.  There  is  a  theory  which  appears 
essentially  true,  that  from  the  beginning  of  the  high- 
school  course  the  sciences  should  be  studied  in  con- 
junction with  the  disciplinary  studies  of  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Mathematics,  and  that  the  elementary  knowledge 
of  them  should  not  be  postponed  to  the  last  two 
years  of  the  college  course.  Certain  it  is  that  when- 
ever the  mind  is  disciplined  in  any  direction,  its  un- 
conscious workings  strengthen  the  foundation  already 
laid,  and  thereby  render  the  superstructure  more  firm. 
Whatever  the  study,  the  element  of  time  seems  all 
important  in  our  education.  The  same  reasons  that 
would  make  science  desirable  in  a  preparatory  course 
would  warrant  the  judicious  teaching  of  carefully  se- 
lected scientific  topics  to  the  lower  grades.  This  view 
has  not  been  adopted  by  the  colleges,  but  something 
has  been  done  to  give  in  the  aggregate  less  Greek  and 
more  science  to  those  who  prefer  such  a  course — not, 
however,  with  a  view  to  reduce  the  amount  of  Greek 
and  Latin  in  the  regular  course.'  The  kind  of  a  course 
of  study  which  was  thought  of  as  necessary  in  those 
early  days  reflected  itself  in  the  kind  of  a  building 
which  was  erected.  The  East  Side  High  School 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  37 

building  was,  in  its  day,  a  conspicuous  model  of  high- 
school  architecture.  The  high  ceilings  and  great  cor- 
ridors and  large  classrooms  showed  the  generous  in- 
tention of  the  citizens  of  Denver.  There  were,  how- 
ever, no  gymnasium,  no  lunchroom,  no  shop  for  man- 
ual training,  and  no  special  equipments  for  science 
courses.  In  short,  the  East  Side  High  School  stands 
as  a  conservative  example  of  a  school,  strong  in  its 
early  days,  but  unable  in  these  days  to  take  on  the  pro- 
gressive features  of  a  first-class  high  school  because  of 
physical  limitations  and  because  of  the  hampering  tra- 
ditions which  come  from  a  successful  past/' 

Matter*  Incidental 

It  was  partly  by  chance  that  Denver  became  the 
place  in  which  to  "dig  in"  as  advised  by  my  physician 
in  Maine.  The  climate  and  an  untameable  saddle 
horse,  whose  activity  was  perforce  shared  by  the  rider, 
were  the  best  possible  prescriptions.  This  beast, 
named  "John  Jackson"  for  no  reason  whatever,  had 
devilish  subtleties  of  invention  to  startle  and  terrify, 
but  more  in  fun  than  in  meanness.  He  would  make 
wild  leaps  at  sight  of  a  sparrow  in  the  road,  feign 
fear  of  a  speckled  rock,  dart  suddenly  into  an  alley,  in 
a  flash  reverse  his  course  on  the  street,  join  a  military 
procession  and  prance,  in  time,  at  the  head  of  the 
band,  to  the  delight  of  onlookers,  and,  in  making 
calls,  break  the  halter  and  bolt  for  his  stable.  On  the 
plains  in  a  dust  storm,  when  huge  "tumble  weeds" 
were  rolling  about,  there  was  no  course  but  to  give 
him  the  bit  and  trust  to  providence.  On  one  occa- 


38  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

sion  a  friend  tried  him  in  the  old  family  coach,  but 
he  soon  jumped  the  thills  and  faced  the  ancient  ve- 
hicle in  wonder,  indignation,  and  contempt.  But  in 
the  mountains  he  was  sure-footed  as  a  donkey,  and 
after  game  had  the  true  spirit  of  a  hunter,  not  flinch- 
ing at  the  rifle  shot.  There  grew  up  a  real  friendship 
between  horse  and  rider,  and  after  he  was  sold  and 
was  allowed  to  perish  on  the  range  in  winter,  the  loss 
seemed  almost  a  family  tragedy.  In  the  jumble  of 
things  recollected,  reference  must  be  made  to  a  wan- 
dering opera  troupe,  which  performed  for  two  weeks 
in  "Old  Guard  Hall."  Being  an  utter  novice  in  study 
of  operatic  art,  the  whole  course  was  taken.  Later 
it  was  a  privilege  to  hear  in  Denver  such  artists  as 
Patti,  Nordica,  Melba,  Tetrazzini  and  Caruso,  and 
actors  like  Salvini  and  Booth.  Then  there  was  the 
Shakespeare  Club  with  social  and  intellectual  advan- 
tages, an  acquaintance  with  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Alger  whose 
"Genius  of  Solitude"  had  made  a  deep  impression 
when  in  college,  and  the  Kant  Club  referred  to  else- 
where. Why  not  note  here  too  the  marriage,  June 
20,  1882,  fortunate  certainly  to  the  party  of  the 
first  part,  to  one  who  in  the  home  circle  and  in  public 
estimation  has  always  been  regarded  the  "better 
half"? 

Informal   Pedagogy 

Colonel  Parker's  summer  institute  at  Martha's 
Vineyard,  which  I  attended  in  1882,  offered  a  brief 
course  in  the  "Quincy  Method",  and  an  acquaintance 
with  the  mysteries  of  "pedagogy",  hitherto  person- 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  39 

ally  regarded  as  the  exclusive  possession  of  a  favored 
cult.  Some  things  were  learned :  a  clearer  view  of  the 
relation  of  thing,  idea,  and  word  in  all  education,  of 
natural  development,  and  of  easy  companionship  with 
pupils;  also  the  fact  that  one  may  know  much  peda- 
gogy without  knowing  it,  as  Moliere's  character  was 
surprised  to  learn  he  had  always  used  prose.  In  a 
philosophical  view  of  education,  Wm.  T.  Harris  was 
my  chosen  leader,  and  from  him  came  a  theory,  modi- 
fied, of  studies  as  opening  up  the  soul  to  nature,  to  the 
deeds  and  thoughts  of  men,  and  to  the  world  of  truth, 
Tightness,  and  beauty.  The  significance  of  the  ordi- 
nary requirements  of  school  discipline,  of  the  habits, 
attitudes,  and  power  acquired  by  study,  and  of  how 
and  where  to  gain  knowledge  from  books  was  set 
forth  clearly  in  his  addresses  and  writings.  Study  of 
the  relation  between  hand  and  head  training,  under- 
standing of  the  need  to  prepare  more  directly  for  vo- 
cations and  of  the  importance  of  a  more  conscious 
social  aim  in  education  followed  later  and  were  due 
in  part  to  a  growing  interest  in  problems  of  citizen- 
ship and  politics.  The  first  view  of  the  National 
Council  of  Education,  as  a  spectator,  inspired  me 
with  wonder  and  awe.  It  seemed  as  if  I  were  standing 
in  the  presence  of  the  gods,  as  it  seemed  to  the  Gauls 
before  the  Roman  Senate — and  there  were  great  men 
whose  names  will  live  in  the  history  of  American  edu- 
cation. It  was  only  after  my  admission  to  member- 
ship that  courage  was  acquired  to  take  a  tug  at  ven- 
erable beards,  as  did  the  barbarian  Gauls.  After  a 
due  period  of  apprenticeship,  it  seemed  to  the  new 


4O  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

member  that  the  influence  of  the  Council  was  too  lim- 
ited, and  that  its  aims  and  methods  should  include 
thorough  investigation  of  the  larger  problems  and 
wide  distribution  of  the  results.  Later  he,  with  oth- 
ers, urged  that  the  Council  be  given  control  of  all 
the  more  important  investigations  of  the  N.  E.  A. 
Those  policies  greatly  extended  the  usefulness  of  the 
Council ;  many  reports  of  large  value .  were  made 
which  reached  the  whole  country. 

Mention  here  of  the  "Elementary  Psychology", 
published  in  1890,  is  only  to  give  a  theory  of  method 
in  teaching  carried  out  in  the  book — induction  in  the 
sense  of  using  typical  examples  followed  by  a  state- 
ment of  principles,  practical  application  of  principles, 
exercises  to  test  originality. 

Investigation* 

Three  movements  of  national  importance  in 
which  the  writer  had  a  part  may  be  noted  here :  form- 
ing a  Department  of  Secondary  Education  in  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association;  the  Examination  of 
Secondary  School  Studies  by  the  Committee  of  Ten; 
and  the  attempt  to  secure  Economy  of  Time  in  Edu- 
cation. 

Department  of  Secondary  Education  organized. 
In  the  early  eighties,  few  high-school  men  were 
found  in  the  National  Association.  Thinking  for 
secondary  education  was  done  by  the  superintendents 
and  the  normal  schools,  although  the  high  schools 
were  represented  in  the  Department  of  Higher  Edu- 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  41 

cation.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  Department  of  Sec- 
ondary Education  into  a  thinking  constructive  body 
showed  the  latent  power  of  men  who  had  limited 
themselves  to  teaching  along  traditional  lines  and  had 
not  entered  the  theoretical  field. 

College  admission;  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
Ten.  In  this  period  the  idiosyncracies,  not  to  say  the 
idiocies,  of  the  Eastern  college  entrance  requirements 
became  unendurable  to  many  high  schools — each  col- 
lege was  a  law  to  itself.  In  actual  experience,  one 
college  refused  a  four-year  course  in  science  in  lieu  of 
a  certain  subject  in  physical  geography,  presented  in  a 
specified  chapter  by  a  designated  author.  The  school 
of  science  in  a  great  university,  requiring  only  two 
years  of  Latin,  refused  a  four-year  course  in  that  sub- 
ject because  it  did  not  include  enough  Caesar.  A  uni- 
versity put  out  examination  questions  in  grammar 
which  could  be  answered  only  by  a  specialist  in  phil- 
ology. This  condition  led  to  an  investigation  and  a 
report  by  the  writer  to  the  National  Council  on  Col- 
lege Admission,  with  a  recommendation  that  a  com- 
mittee representing  leading  colleges  and  high  schools 
be  appointed  to  take  up  the  whole  matter.  The  Coun- 
cil had  been  limited  to  learned  discussions  to  sharpen 
the  wits  of  the  members,  and  the  proposition  to  inves- 
tigate and  publish  a  report  to  the  whole  country  was 
doubtfully  accepted.  If  not  the  beginning  of  national 
investigations,  it  was  the  immediate  stimulus  to  a 
policy  that  has  led  to  many  subsequent  "inquiries"  of 
large  scope  and  influence.  The  writer  had  interested 


42  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

President  Eliot  in  the  scheme,  and  perhaps  he  alone  at 
that  time  had  the  prestige  to  carry  it  through.  The 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  which  includes  re- 
ports by  nine  "conferences"  on  as  many  departments 
of  study,  was  widely  distributed  and  invited  much 
discussion — a  second  awakening  of  the  high  schools. 
The  Report  met  the  original  purpose  of  inquiry  into 
the  absurdities  of  entrance  requirements  by  working 
out  four  courses  in  which  all  lines  of  study  were  given 
equal  time,  and  recommending  that  any  or  all  of 
these  lines  be  accepted  by  the  colleges.  Later  another 
committee  took  another  step  and  presented  the  "unit 
plan",  leaving  to  the  colleges  the  right  to  determine, 
each  for  itself,  the  prescribed  and  the  elective  units. 
And  so,  by  somewhat  unexpected  steps  and  turns,  the 
solution  of  the  problem  of  varied  requirements  for 
college  admission  was  reached.  The  writer  formally 
objected  in  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  to 
the  section  which  seemed  to  him)  to  imply  that  any 
subject,  if  seriously  pursued,  is  the  equivalent  of  any 
other,  on  the  ground  that  it  endorsed  the  theory  of 
pure  discipline  and  disregarded  content.  He  had  long 
before  discarded  the  theory  of  pure  discipline,  since 
power  comes  through  knowledge  and  the  kinds  of 
knowledge  differ  in  value. 

Economy  of  Time  in  Education.  Economy  of 
Time  in  Education  was  the  third.  In  the  Yarmouth 
High  School  I  had  made  a  somewhat  thorough  ex- 
periment in  selective  emphasis  on  the  more  important 
parts  in  certain  subjects,  after  a  rapid  view  of  the 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  43 

whole  ground.  It  was  also  tried  in  Denver  but  aban- 
doned because  misunderstood  as  "cramming  for  ex- 
amination". When  the  standard  for  university  pro- 
fessional schools  became  an  acute  question,  the  idea 
of  time-saving  by  selection,  strengthened  by  the  view 
of  the  "conferences"  mentioned  above  that  many 
high-school  studies  should  begin  in  the  grades,  ap- 
peared to  me  to  offer  an  indirect  way  of  solution.  By 
eliminating  relatively  unimportant  matter  and  by 
vitalizing  methods,  two  years  in  general  education 
might  be  saved,  college  entrance  and  graduation 
might  be  reached  two  years  earlier,  and  the  university 
schools,  professional  and  technical  and  "graduate", 
might  rest  on  a  two-year  college  basis,  or  a  four-year 
college  readjusted  in  time.  I  presented  a  request  for 
an  investigation  to  the  Council  in  1903,  which  was 
pigeon-holed  until  1907  when  a  Committee  was 
appointed;  a  Report  was  made  in  1913  which  was 
printed  and  widely  distributed  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education;  our  brief  final  Report  appeared  in  1919. 
The  results  of  the  work  of  the  Committee  on  Econ- 
omy of  Time  in  Education  are  yet  problematical.  The 
extended  preliminary  inquiry  on  educational  waste  re- 
vealed an  unexpected  amount  of  frank  self-criticism. 
The  cooperation,  at  our  request,  of  a  Committee  of 
the  Department  of  Superintendence,  aided  by  many 
able  "Investigators",  led  to  reports  on  Minimal  Es- 
sentials and  on  Economy  of  Learning.  Junior  high 
schools,  junior  colleges,  and  professional  schools 
based  on  two  years  of  college  are  increasing.  Today 
every  phase  of  educational  economy  in  time,  energy, 


44  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

matter,  and  method  is  under  discussion.  But  there  is 
still  a  hitch  in  the  "telescoping"  process  which  would 
readjust  the  whole  system,  and  result  in  a  genuine 
American  University  with  all  its  schools  on  a  proper 
college  foundation.  The  fact  that  the  cooperating 
university  committees  have  failed  to  function  may 
explain  the  delay  in  a  reorganization  the  need  of 
which  is  now  generally  acknowledged. 

Educational  Progress 

A  schoolmaster  may  be  forgiven  if  he  has  never 
been  greatly  influenced  by  ufads"  and  has  not  placed 
overemphasis  on  study  of  nerve  cells,  sense  percep- 
tion, special  abilities,  culture  epochs,  apperception,  or 
other  proposed  ways  to  universal  truth.  All  such 
investigations  without  question  have  added  much  to 
child  psychology  and  in  ways  improved  teaching 
methods.  My  transmigrations  in  doctrine  from  dis- 
cipline to  knowledge  as  opening  the  windows  of  the 
soul,  thence  to  content  as  related  to  practical  life,  and 
finally  to  the  social  aim  probably  correspond  some- 
what with  rebirths  of  thought  in  the  educational  world. 
We  have  now  reached  the  period  of  empiricism, 
adoption  of  whatever  works  well,  of  what  best  fits 
the  child  for  the  material  and  spiritual  need  of  today. 
This  calls  for  a  fearless  reexamination  of  all  studies, 
a  definition  of  aims,  and  tests  of  results.  Evolution 
which  looks  forward  instead  of  at  fixed  conditions, 
growth  of  altruism  and  thought  for  the  social  need, 
and  the  spirit  of  science  which  regards  realities  have 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  45 

prepared  the  way  for  radical  change  in  traditional 
methods. 

We  may  note  some  obviously  right  objectives, 
whether  old  or  new.  ( i )  Study  of  subjects  essential 
in  organizing  the  mind  and  in  giving  knowledge  and 
skill  of  widest  use,  as  numbers  and  language,  must  be 
thorough.  Weakness  here  is  fundamental  weakness. 
The  mastery  of  arithmetic  and  grammar  pays,  a  fact 
in  the  memory  and  experience  of  the  older  genera- 
tion. Time  can  be  saved  for  laying  the  foundation 
firmly.  Information  and  inspiration  subjects  can  be 
taught  in  less  time  than  now  used  and  with  better 
results,  by  selecting  relatively  important  matter  and 
using  methods  that  invite  and  arouse.  Practical  logic 
and  will-training  are  essentials  and  may  be  related  to 
the  basic  studies.  Power  to  detect  common  fallacies 
may  be  made  incidental  to  grammar,  literature,  and 
science.  Will,  the  power  to  attend  and  persevere,  to 
organize  self  under  right  motives  is  the  whole  of  effi- 
ciency and  of  character.  The  mental  and  moral 
"disciplines"  aimed  to  train  the  will.  Do  our  methods 
today  reach  the  objectives  described — fundamental 
knowledge  and  skill,  accurate  thinking,  self  mastery? 
Here  is  a  chance  for  a  real  scientist  in  the  field  of  edu- 
cation who  uses  the  telescope  as  well  as  the  micro- 
scope. (2)  Educational  aims  must  be  adapted  to 
civic  needs  as  was  done  in  the  Athenian  City-State. 
That  we  have  fully  discovered  this  but  recently  is  a 
comment  on  progress.  Ancient  civilizations  can  still 
teach  us  much  on  relating  means  to  desired  ends.  To- 


46  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

day  the  individual  must  be  preserved;  the  pupil  can 
not  be  taught  blind  obedience  to  the  state,  but  his  free 
will  may  be  made  the  good  will  in  sympathy  and  in 
service.  Perhaps  only  one  in  a  hundred  can  impart 
successfully  ideas  of  citizenship  and  character.  The 
teaching  of  the  virtues  is  usually  form  without  spirit. 
This  work  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  apt  spe- 
cial instructors.  The  place  of  civics  in  the  schools  is 
made  clear  by  the  humanitarianism  of  the  time  and  by 
democratic  movements.  We  seek  a  new  humanism, 
truly  cultural,  that  aims  at  the  highest  social  welfare 
in  place  of  former  ideals  of  refinement,  aristocratic 
exclusiveness,  and  selfish  personal  development.  (3) 
Individual  and  national  efficiency  must  be  developed 
by  branch  lines  at  various  stages  toward  vocations  as 
well  as  by  opportunities  for  the  highest  technical  and 
professional  training.  The  demand  for  skillful  hands 
and  organized  brains  increases  with  the  complexities 
of  our  material  civilization.  (4)  Spiritual  efficiency 
is  the  highest  objective.  The  after-war  insight  into 
the  significance  of  a  nation's  philosophy  reaffirms  old 
ideals.  All  education,  even  the  most  practical,  should 
be  permeated  with  the  sense  of  higher  values,  and  of 
the  place  and  the  worth  of  all  work  in  the  scheme  of 
things.  The  teacher  with  a  bit  of  poetry  and  philos- 
opy — and  none  other  is  fully  equipped — can  impart 
even  to  youth  the  idealism  which  makes  true  happi- 
ness of  the  individual  and  the  safety  of  a  people. 
Present  tendencies  are  another  proof  of  the  relativity 
of  educational  ideals,  that  they  are  determined,  not 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  47 

only  by  the  history  of  a  people,  but  by  the  needs  of 
a  given  period  and  by  the  dominant  philosophy. 

In  a  half  century  changes  have  been  rapid  and 
upon  the  whole  in  the  way  of  permanent  progress. 
Fifty  years  ago  many  ideas  of  today  were  unknown 
or  but  dimly  seen.  The  changes  may  be  summed  up 
as  increasing  the  agencies  of  education,  enlarging  the 
field,  and  liberalizing  the  aims.  Books  are  supple- 
mented by  gymnasiums,  manual  training,  labora- 
tories. Opportunity  schools  are  provided,  in  rural 
communities  education  goes  beyond  the  schoolroom, 
and  the  extension  work  of  the  universities  reaches 
vast  numbers  beyond  the  campus.  We  are  on  the  way 
to  high  standards  in  the  teaching  profession.  Edu- 
cation aims  to  cover  the  chief  needs,  practical  and 
spiritual,  in  preparation  for  life.  High  schools  have 
become  an  accepted  integral  part  of  the  school  sys- 
tem and  their  courses  branch  in  many  directions.  The 
state  universities  have  become  the  ally  and  the  expo- 
nent of  democracy.  We  have  a  more  scientific  psychol- 
ogy; mere  learning  is  vitalized  by  doing;  the  study 
is  adapted  to  the  child  as  well  as  the  child  to  the 
study;  individual  tastes  and  needs  are  recognized  by 
systems  of  electives.  The  revelations  of  the  War 
period  inevitably  affected  the  schools.  They  showed 
the  extent  of  physical,  mental,  and  moral  weakness 
among  the  youth  of  draft  age,  the  amount  of  illit- 
eracy, and  the  menace  of  unassimilated  foreign 
groups.  They  reaffirmed  the  value  of  real  culture 
in  forming  the  character  of  a  people,  and  pointed  to 


48  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

the  danger  of  a  bigoted  patriotism.  The  meaning  of 
education  in  every  field  of  the  nation's  activities  was 
made  clear  by  the  cooperation  between  the  govern- 
ment and  the  schools.  Some  barriers  were  broken 
down  and  a  way  opened  to  the  special  student  in  spe- 
cial courses.  As  a  result  of  the  influences  of  this  pe- 
riod, there  was  a  renewed  effort  to  build  up  the  weak, 
weak  in  mind,  in  body,  and  in  will  power,  to  reduce 
ignorance,  and  to  inculcate  the  true  American  spirit. 
There  was  a  reaction  toward  cultural  education,  and 
a  new  understanding  of  patriotism  tempered  by  jus- 
tice toward  other  peoples.  Through  cooperation  a 
closer  spiritual  union  was  formed  between  education 
and  the  public. 

We  have  seen  in  the  last  three  decades  the 
changes  in  the  universities  from  a  fixed  curriculum 
through  a  period  of  chaos  to  the  elective  group-sys- 
tem, technical  and  professional  schools  placed  on  a 
new  basis,  the  evolution  through  the  graduate  school 
toward  the  real  university,  and  hope  for  the  time 
when  there  shall  be  a  clear  demarcation  between  sec- 
ondary and  university  education,  and  the  earlier  use 
of  university  methods,  methods  that  should  greatly 
increase  interest,  initiative,  originality,  and  power. 
This  time  will  come  when  the  upper  college  and  the 
graduate  school  are  joined  and  reorganized  into  a  con- 
sistent unit.  We  shall  then  have  in  America  a  true 
university  in  which  are  united  the  best  traditions  of 
the  past  with  the  practical  and  ideal  objectives  of  the 
present.  Nevertheless,  the  people  may  look  with  con- 


A  SKETCH  OF  TWENTY  YEARS.  49 

fidence  on  the  modern  university.  The  college  may 
or  may  not  develop  the  genius.  But  it  is  the  treasure- 
house  of  established  facts  and  fundamental  princi- 
ples, and  the  place  of  organized  search  for  new  truth, 
and  as  such  is  the  conserving  and  steadying  force  in 
our  civilization,  a  factor  in  sane  progress,  a  stabilizer 
in  a  temporarily  hysterical  world.  Today  the  uni- 
versity touches  life  at  all  points — industry,  health, 
justice,  society,  government.  Through  extension  work 
it  reaches  the  people,  increases  practical  skill,  general 
knowledge,  civic  interest,  social  welfare.  It  cooper- 
ates with  philanthropy  and  government,  and  through 
trained  experts  works  toward  businesslike  adminis- 
tration in  city  and  state.  The  Great  War  taught  many 
things:  it  showed  the  power  of  the  scientist  to  meet 
many  exigencies  of  the  government,  the  value  of  the 
educated  soldier,  the  need  of  technical  knowledge  and 
skill,  and  above  all  it  created  a  reaction  toward  cul- 
ture in  education,  culture  readapted  and  redefined  in 
accord  with  the  demands  of  the  time,  culture  turned 
toward  the  social  best  as  well  as  the  highest  qualities 
in  the  individual.  It  showed  that  a  cultured  people 
are  more  humane,  tend  to  preserve  the  virtues  and 
ideals  that  adorn  a  nation.  It  showed,  moreover, 
that  a  people  educated  in  freedom  of  thought — not 
machine-made  by  a  paternal  government — have  more 
initiative,  are  more  progressive,  rise  voluntarily  to 
meet  great  emergencies,  exhibit,  not  a  stunted  per- 
fection, but  the  power  of  endless  growth.  The  effi- 
ciency of  America  in  the  War  was  due  in  part  to  the 
practical  side  of  our  training,  but  its  spirit  was  the 


50  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

product  of  the  liberal  studies  of  our  schools  and  col- 
leges. Our  welfare  as  a  people  will  increase  as  edu- 
cation leads  to  the  rule  of  reason  over  passion  and 
prejudice  and  blind  will,  justice  between  classes,  ap- 
preciation of  beauty  and  truth,  constructive  power  of 
the  free  will,  and  faith  in  the  order  and  purpose  of 
the  world.  Our  education,  even  the  most  practical, 
must  ever  and  everywhere  be  penetrated  with  a  sense 
of  the  higher  values,  with  an  idealism  which  teaches 
that  there  is  a  meaning  in  the  humblest  work  and  a 
spiritual  reward  for  every  right  effort. 


V   VIEWS    OF   EDUCATION.— FROM   PAPERS 
AND   ADDRESSES. 

The  views  on  education  in  this  chapter  are  gath- 
ered from  the  author's  papers,  addresses,  and  books, 
written,  the  most  of  them,  in  the  twenty-two  years 
of  connection  with  the  University  of  Colorado.  They 
are  presented  in  the  original  form  regardless  of  new 
developments  of  thought  in  this  field.  If  they  were 
apt  at  the  time,  they  may  have  expressed  some  ideas 
that  have  a  permanent  value.  The  extracts  are  clas- 
sified under  appropriate  heads. 

Aim* 

Lessons  from  the  Greeks.  Genius  has  always 
grown  out  of  its  own  age.  Plato  proclaimed  many 
truths  good  for  all  countries  and  times.  But  he  stud- 
ied education  in  relation  to  the  need  of  Athenians, 
citizenship  in  the  interest  of  his  City-State,  govern- 
ment as  illustrated  by  periods  of  Grecian  history,  mu- 
sic and  art  as  expressing  national  ideals.  Today  we 
have  a  hundred  times  the  means  of  progress — a  vast 
accumulation  of  material  for  the  use  of  the  inventive 
mind,  and  should  have  the  vision,  the  power,  and  the 

courage  for  original  and  constructive  work. Never 

has  the  world  seen  so  elaborate  a  system  of  educa- 
tion as  ours,  yet  in  point  of  some  essential  results  to 
be  attained — strength  and  grace  of  body,  harmonious 
physical  and  mental  development,  balanced  charac- 
ter, the  higher  philosophical  power  and  imagination, 


52  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

fitness  for  citizenship — we  must  still  take  our  ideas 
from  the  Greeks,  and  look  forward  to  a  more  natural, 

economical,   and  productive  aim  and  method. 

Sparta  and  Athens  were  able  to  make  citizens  adapted 
to  the  genius  of  the  state.  Surely  we  can  do  more  to 
solve  social  questions  through  the  schools.  Passion, 
prejudice,  hysteria,  class-selfishness,  injustice  are 
modified  by  ideas.  Efficiency,  industrial  and  social 
and  governmental,  may  be  wrought  into  the  very 
fabric  of  a  nation,  and  largely  by  education.  (R  7. 
N  28.  R  8.).* 

Some  objectives.  Whatever  ideals  a  people 
cherish,  for  these  they  must  educate. 1  am  con- 
vinced we  must  study  education  in  terms  of  sociology 
and  sociology  in  terms  of  education  before  we  can 
relate  educational  aims  to  civic  needs  and  make  our 
training  to  the  fullest  extent  economical,  direct,  and 
useful. In  present  adaptations,  the  schools  per- 
force will  be  democratic  and  aim  at  public  service 
and  universal  welfare;  they  must  prepare  for  prac- 
tical efficiency;  as  a  corrective  to  the  extreme  doc- 
trines of  action  and  success,  and  of  individual  stand- 
ards, we  must  reserve  a  place  for  art  and  philos- 
ophy, for  power  of  thought  and  pure  research. — 


*  The  references  are  marked  as  follows: 

E  to  Elementary  Psychology. 

L  to  Education  and  Life. 

P  to  American  Problems. 

N  to  Educational  Aims  and  Civic  Needs. 

R  to  American  University  Progress  and  College  Reform. 

W  to  After  the  War—What? 

[The  long  dash,  throughout,  separates  extracts.] 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  53 

The  demands  of  the  time  are  efficiency,  the  business 
ideal,  real  culture,  and  responsible  character,  and 
these  mtist  be  made  more  consciously  the  aim  of 
higher  education. We  are  beginning  to  under- 
stand that  the  child  or  youth,  at  whatever  point 
natural  capacity  or  social  condition  may  end  his 
education,  should  be  on  the  road  to  an  occupation,  and 
not  be  left  a  hopeless  wanderer. The  growing  sym- 
pathy for  the  less  fortunate  classes,  the  deeper  sense 
of  individual  obligation,  the  aim  at  industrial  and 
social  and  governmental  efficiency  call  for  an  educa- 
tion that  emphasizes  social  ethics,  vocational  aims, 
and  preparation  for  expert  service  in  public  admin- 
istration and  in  organized  philanthropy.  And  the 
attainment  of  spiritual  ideals  is  the  work  of  the  state 

as  well  as  of  private  agencies. To  be  of  value 

the  study  of  good  citizenship  must  create  under- 
standing, interest,  feeling,  and  duty.  Begin  with 
simple  concrete  illustrations,  show  the  dependence 
upon  society  for  everything  that  makes  life  worth 
living.  Then  the  pupil  may  be  impressed  with  the 
fact  that,  if  he  owes  everything  to  society,  he  should 
make  some  kind  of  return.  After  such  preparation, 
he  may  tackle  organized  society — the  constitution 
and  the  machinery  of  government.  The  rights  of 
all  classes  should  enlist  the  pupil's  sympathy. 
Science  will  enter  the  social  field  with  hope  of  fruit- 
ful discovery. The  materialistic  tendency  is  car- 
ried to  its  logical  conclusion  in  a  recent  book  in  which 
the  whole  discussion  of  education  hinges  on  the 
preparation  to  earn  money,  and  the  quality  of  life  is 


54  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

ignored.  This  doctrine  would  make  men  akin  to 
Caliban  who  curses  the  little  education  he  has  un- 
willingly received,  is  serviceable  only  for  bringing 
wood,  and  takes  a  fool  for  a  god  whom  he  would 
propitiate  by  an  offering  of  pignuts.  (N  141.  R  6.  R 
10.  N  4.  N  8.  R  5.  W  137.  N  49-50.). 

Theories 

Power  and  content.  Mere  form,  mere  power, 
without  content,  mean  nothing.  Power  is  power 
through  knowledge.  Hence  the  education  which 
does  not  include  something  of  all  views  of  the  world, 
and  of  the  thinking  subject  is  lacking  in  data  for  the 
wise  and  effective  use  of  power. It  makes  a  dif- 
ference whether  one  gains  power  in  deciphering  an 
ancient  inscription,  or  gains  it  by  studying  a  language 
which  contains  the  generic  concepts  of  our  native 
tongue  or  in  pursuing  a  scientific  study  which  ac- 
quaints him  with  the  laws  of  nature's  forces.  In  the 
latter  case  an  essential  view  of  the  world  in  which  we 
live  is  gained,  and  the  knowledge  is  broadly  useful 
for  the  various  exercise  of  power.  (L  65.  L  87-8.) . 

Recapitulation.  Since  the  doctrine  of  evolution 
became  an  accepted  belief,  many  changes  have 
occurred  in  the  educational  world  and  in  the  attitude 
of  society  toward  some  of  its  problems.  Emphasis 
is  given  to  the  physical  side  of  man — the  condition 
of  the  body  as  affecting  the  mind,  physical  training, 
the  brain  as  the  instrument  of  thought,  physiological 
psychology,  the  claims  of  industrial  education,  the 
importance  of  niotor  education  of  every  kind  as  con- 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  55 

trasted  with  mere  receptivity  and  subjectivity.  More 
emphasis  is  given  to  man's  status  in  this  present  time 
and  environment.  Theoretically,  human  nature  is 
less  responsible  than  it  was  formerly  held  to  be. 
Much  formerly  thought  devilish  is  seen  to  be  at  least 
natural,  if  not  tolerable.  -  But  the  doctrine  of  "re- 
capitulation" may  be  overworked.  The  child  is 
born  into  the  world  adapted  to  his  environment  by 
his  more  immediate  heredity.  He  is  an  organism 
with  tendencies  to  acts  that  at  maturity  help  him  to 
survive  under  present  conditions.  And  a  psychology 
that  sees  in  acts  of  infancy  and  childhood,  not 
merely  reminiscence,  but  the  promise  of  adult 
functions,  anticipatory  development  through  the 
senses  and  by  motor  activities,  will  still  appeal  to 
very  many  thinkers.  -  Certainly  exercise  in  some 
practical  pursuit  of  today  is  vastly  preferable  to  the 
senseless  wasteful  repetition  of  the  historical  stages 
of  some  handicraft.  Granting  most  that  is  claimed 
for  "recapitulation",  repeating  in  school  the  evo- 
lution of  industries  is  not  an  economic  application 
of  it.  The  industries  of  today  are  sufficiently  varied 
for  educational  needs.  Our  ancestors  survived  by 
up-to-date  adaptation  to  their  environment,  including 
the  then  existing  forms  of  industry.  (P  177.  P  194. 


More  fads.  We  may  ask  whether  "apper- 
ception", "correlation",  "coordination",  and  "con- 
centration" are  anything  but  recognition  of  the  laws 
of  association.  The  laws  of  association  in  memory 


56  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

are  nothing  but  the  law  of  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
as  all  good  psychology  points  out.  These  laws  in- 
clude relations  of  time,  place,  likeness,  analogy,  dif- 
ference, and  cause.  Add  to  these  laws  logical 
sequence  in  the  development  of  the  subject,  and  you 
have  all  the  principles  of  the  methods  named.  If 
the  theory  of  "culture-epochs"  finds  a  parallel,  in 
the  order  of  development,  between  race  and  indi- 
vidual, and  throws  light  on  the  selection  of  material 
for  each  stage  of  the  child's  growth,  then  let  the 
theory  be  used  for  all  it  is  worth.  Its  place,  how- 
ever, will  be  a  subordinate  one.  Here  are  the 
world  and  the  present  civilization  by  means  of  which 
the  child  is  to  be  educated,  to  which  he  is  to  be 
adjusted.  Select  subjects  with  reference  to  nature  as 
known  by  modern  science,  with  reference  to  modern 
civilization  and  the  hereditary  accumulation  of 
power  in  the  child  to  acquire  modern  conceptions. 

Is  nature  to  be  followed  implicitly?    Is  nature 

always  wise?  If  the  child  is  to  be  an  animal,  a  sav- 
age, then  the  teaching  of  nature  is  to  be  followed. 
But  the  child  is  to  be  prepared  for  civilization,  a 
rational  life,  and  ethical  conduct.  He  learns  the 
conventions  of  society.  As  a  rational  being  man 
creates  a  whole  world  of  ideals  and  ethical  values 
and  poetry.  And  this  rational,  in  a  sense  artificial 
world,  is  infinitely  superior  to  the  natural  world,  un- 
derstood as  non-rational. Natural  methods  are 

dangerous;  they  too  often  mean  inclination  and  ease, 
and  unfitness  to  survive  either  as  an  animal  or  as  a 
rational  being.  (L  76-7.  P  195.  N  75.). 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  57 

Individualism  in  education.  Some  clamor  for 
provision  of  an  unlimited  variety  in  educational 
regimen,  as  if  the  human  race  represented  all  the 
types  of  a  menagerie;  they  decline  to  recognize  a 
genus  homo,  evolved  through  peculiar  adaptations 
and  heredity,  possessing  distinct  characteristics, 
needs,  and  capabilities.  Pursuit  of  inclination  is  not 
a  principle  to  be  applied  in  elementary  or  secondary 
education;  it  is  the  doctrine  of  romanticism,  so  suc- 
cessfully carried  out  by  Faust  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Devil.  The  child  is  a  chaos  of  inclinations 
and  impulses,  and  his  education  consists  partly  in 
emphasizing  useful  impulses  and  subordinating 
others — balancing  the  whole  nature.  To  this  end 
the  best  wisdom  gained  through  experience  and  in- 
sight, and  administered  by  wise  and  experienced 
teachers,  must  be  the  guide.  I  object  to  a  plan  of 
perpetual  multitudinous  induction  for  every  indi- 
vidual of  each  generation,  as  unnecessary.  (P  207). 

Interest;  Pleasure.  We  are  not  to  infer  that 
interest  must  be  pleasure.  We  are  born  with  native 
impulses  to  action,  impulses  that  reach  out  in 
benevolence  and  compassion  for  the  good  of  others, 
impulses  that  reach  out  toward  the  truth  and  good 
and  beauty  of  the  world,  without  regard  to  pleasure 
or  reward.  The  work  of  the  teacher  is  to  invite 
these  better  tendencies  by  presenting  to  pupils  the 
proper  objects  for  their  exercise  in  the  world  of 
truth,  beauty,  and  right.  Interest  and  action  will 
follow,  and,  later,  the  satisfaction  that  attends  right 


58  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

development  But  some  things  must  be  done  be- 
cause they  are  required.  The  pleasure  theory  is  bad 
philosophy,  bad  psychology,  bad  ethics,  bad  peda- 
gogy, a  caricature  of  man,  contrary  to  our  conscious- 
ness of  the  motives  of  even  our  ordinary  useful  acts, 
a  theory  that  will  make  a  generation  of  weaklings. 

Easy  ways,  infantile  inductions,  scatter-brained 

methods  have  become  fetishes. (L  78-9.  N   168.). 

Influence  of  Bacon  and  Rousseau 

Among  the  beneficent  results  of  the  Baconian 
philosophy,  one  must  note  some  doubtful  products. 
In  the  course  of  the  centuries  it  has  done  much  to 
create  the  spirit  which  rules  today — the  strenuous 
life,  efficiency,  power,  success  at  whatever  cost  and 
by  whatever  means,  the  rush  and  frenzy  of  life, 
materialism. Next  to  Bacon's  Rousseau's  in- 
fluence marks  the  spirit  of  our  time.  His  is  the 
doctrine  of  individual  temperament — each  man  a 
law  to  himself.  There  are  no  universal  human  stand- 
ards to  which  the  individual  must  adapt  himself. 
This  doctrine  leads  directly  to  the  pursuit  of  personal 
inclination.  It  leads  to  freedom  of  election  and  easy 
methods  in  the  schools,  to  general  inadequacy  in 
training  of  youth,  and  in  so  far  tends  to  produce  a 
generation  of  "unlicked  cubs".  It  permeates  all  our 
interests  and  amusements.  In  the  very  abandon  of 
joy  and  mirth,  it  is  essential  that  the  soul  be  sound 
and  sane.  Of  course  we  acknowledge  the  vast 
beneficent  influence  of  Rousseau  upon  the  world  for 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  59 

freedom,   broad  human   sympathy,    and   for   many 
pedagogical  truths.  (N  48-9.   N  56.). 

Efficiency 

Means  of  efficiency.  The  efficiency  ideal  in 
education,  considered  alone,  would  place  greater 
stress  on  economy  of  time,  vocations,  service,  care 
of  the  unhealthy  and  weak,  will-training.  In  all 
grades  economy  of  matter,  method,  energy,  and  time 
will  be  sought.  The  curriculum  will  be  modernized. 
Every  study  will  be  re-examined  with  view  to  its  abso- 
lute and  relative  value,  material  or  spiritual.  Educa- 
tion will  be  clearly  related  to  life  and  work.  Prepa- 
ration for  vocations  will  be  more  insistent.  Science 
with  all  its  applications  will  come  more  to  the  front. 
The  schools  will  have  a  greater  responsibility  for  the 
health  of  the  pupils,  for  educating  the  sub-normal 
and  adapting  them  to  suitable  occupations,  and  for 
the  condition  of  the  idle  who  are  untrained  in  skill 
or  will  power.  I  predict  that  somewhere,  in  some 
way,  will  be  retained  in  adapted  form  the  idea  of 
discipline,  a  thing  lacking  in  the  methods  of  today 
which  deal  too  much  with  temperamental  choice  and 
relatively  unimportant  and  fragmentary  matter. 
Will-training  means  education  which  not  only 
organizes  the  faculties  to  group  the  elements  of  a 
complete  enterprise  and  persevere  to  a  finish,  but 
which  gives  self-possession,  moral  self-control,  and 
soul  strength,  the  character,  which  in  a  republic  is 
the  essential  of  citizenship.  (W  133-5.)- 


60  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

Limitations  to  the  efficiency  ideal.  The  lack  of 
efficiency  in  most  industries  and  professions,  when 
it  is  not  a  lack  in  foundation  education,  is  largely 
moral.  The  business  world  will  make  a  fearful 
economic  mistake,  if  it  insists  in  making  of  youth 

machines  instead  of  men. To  merely  live,  as  part 

of  an  industrial  machine,  to  educate  for  mere  effi- 
ciency, will  never  be  accepted  as  the  last  word  of 
social  philosophy.  Therefore  it  is  that  history, 
literature,  poetry,  art,  psychology,  ethics,  and  philos- 
ophy will  have  a  permanent  place  in  the  scheme  of 
education.  (N  182.  N  148.). 

Some  Pedagogical  Maxims 

Restraint  and  training  are  necessary  as  well  as 

play  for  the  child. The  natural  exertion  of  our 

powers  is  pleasurable.  This  is  the  source  of  self- 
activity.  Self-activity  is  to  be  fostered  by  every 
means;  this  is  true  education.  Lack  of  intellectual 
energy  in  pupils  is  often  the  fault  of  the  teacher. 

Our  view  of  the  mind  as  self-activity  suggests 

that  as  a  rule  cramming  and  forcing  processes  should 

not  be   employed. Much   of   the  work  of   the 

teacher  of  the  young  is  to  furnish  the  proper 
stimulus  to  attention.  Most  children  are  full  of 

self-activity    and    simply    need    guidance. Some 

of  the  common  causes  of  failure  to  secure  attention 
are  attempting  too  many  things  at  a  time,  requiring 
tasks  beyond  the  power  of  comprehension  of  the 
pupil,  and  requiring  too  prolonged  effort  of  his 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  6 1 

power.  Enforced  attention  is  better  than  no  atten- 
tion, and  the  pupil  should  not  be  permitted  to  act  to 

his  own  harm  because  the  task  is  not  agreeable. 

The  plain  truth  must  finally  be  faced  that  disagree- 
able tasks  must  be  accomplished  by  pure  effort  of 

will.    "The  age  of  drudgery  must  commence." 

General  principles,  theories,  laws,  well  understood, 
will  enable  us  to  remember  the  facts  connected  with 
them.  The  large  features  of  the  landscape  are  to 
be  outlined,  and  afterward  the  details  can  be 

acquired  and  associated  with  the  main  features. 

The  voice  of  conscience  is  constantly  saying,  "Intend 
the  right;  conform  to  obligation;  your  duty  is  to  do 
all  you  can  to  learn  the  right,  and  to  perform  all  the 

right    you    know". Curiosity    is    natural    and 

pleasure  follows  the  discovery  of  agreements  and 

differences  in  objects  of  thought. We  can  not 

expect  that  children  will  always  choose  that  which 
is  right,  wisest,  or  best  unless  put  under  some  re- 
straint or  compulsion. Moral  instruction  has  a 

value.  But  mere  instruction,  "preaching",  is  not 
sufficient.  The  abstract  notion  of  right  does  not  pro- 
foundly influence  us. The  efficacy  of  punishment 

depends  on  its  certainty,  its  justice,  and  its  relation 

to  motive  and  consequences. Those  who,  during 

their  period  of  education,  have  been  controlled 
wholly  either  by  authority  or  by  love  are  not  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  responsibilities  of  life. Psy- 
chology enables  the  teacher  to  direct  understand- 
ingly  the  early  growth  of  the  mental  powers;  it  aids 
the  individual  in  striving  for  that  which  is  highest 


62  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

and  best  in  himself;  it  is  of  value  to  all  who  would 
influence  their  fellow-men  toward  moral  excellence 
and  the  best  use  of  their  faculties.  (E  34.200.36.46. 
48.49.102.198.204.205.206.221.224.50.). 

Time-Saring 

The  proposition.  It  is  believed  that  by  elimina- 
tion and  selection  and  better  methods  the  period  of 
general  education  including  the  college  may  end  two 
years  earlier,  namely,  at  about  twenty-  and  that 
genuine  university  work,  including  professional 
schools  and  what  is  now  the  graduate  school,  may 
begin  then  and  end  at  about  twenty-four.  Of  course 
this  would  involve  many  readjustments,  especially  in 
the  arts  college.  I  can  not  too  strongly  urge  that  the 
universities  join  a  movement  to  re-examine  our  whole 
scheme  of  education.  (N  143.). 

Studies  earlier.  I  believe  that  throughout  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  education  we  have  too  little 
confidence  in  the  power  of  the  youthful  mind  to 
absorb  ideas  when  presented  by  the  well-equipped 
skillful  teacher,  and  that  we  limit  the  progress  of 
brighter  pupils  to  the  loss  of  time  and  of  the  free 

development  of  the  best  intellect  of  the  nation. 

The  mind  of  the  child  is  susceptible  of  more  mature 
development  at  the  age  of  fourteen  than  is  usually 
attained.  Each  child,  almost  from  the  dawn  of 
consciousness,  recognizes  relations  of  number  and 
space,  observes  phenomena  and  draws  crude  in- 
ferences, records  in  his  mind  the  daily  deeds  of  his 
associates,  and  employs  language  to  express  his 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  63 

thought,  often  with  large  use  of  imagination. 
Already  has  begun  spontaneous  development  in 
mathematics,  science,  history,  and  literature.  Nature 
points  the  way  and  we  should  follow  the  direction. 
If  we  accept  this  view,  we  must  grant  that  geometry 
on  its  concrete  side  belongs  to  the  earliest  period  of 
education ;  that  the  observation  of  natural  phenomena 
with  simple  inferences  will  be  a  most  attractive 
study  to  the  child;  that  the  importance  of  observa- 
tion of  objects  of  natural  history  is  foreshadowed 
by  the  spontaneous  interest  taken  in  them  before  the 
school  period;  that  tales  of  ancient  heroes,  and  the 
pleasing  myths  of  antiquity,  together  with  the  strik- 
ing characters  and  events  of  Greek  and  Roman 
history,  belong  to  the  early  period  of  historic 
knowledge;  that  the  whole  world  of  substance  and 
phenomena  that  constitutes  our  environment  should 
be  the  subject  of  study  under  the  head  of  physical 
geography  or  physiography;  that  the  thoughts  of 
literature,  ethical  and  imaginative,  appeal  readily  to 
the  child's  mind.  We  may  add  that  the  taste  of 
children  may  be  early  cultivated,  and  that  the  glory 
which  the  child  discovers  in  nature  makes  possible 
the  art  idea  and  the  religious  sentiment.  Should 
we  not  reconsider  our  analysis  of  the  elementary 
course?  It  was  agreed  in  the  Committee  of  Ten 
that  our  task  would  be  less  difficult,  did  the  high- 
school  period  begin,  say  two  years  earlier.  The 
change  would  involve  reconstruction  of  our  school 
system  from  the  primary  school  to  the  end  of  the 
university.  Somewhere  the  work  must  be  shortened, 


64  Or   HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

in  either  the  elementary  school,  the  high  school,  or 
the  college.  The  aim  should  be  to  reduce  the  num- 
ber of  subjects  taken  by  any  pupil,  and  the  number 
of  topics  under  a  subject.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
the  entire  landscape  be  studied  in  all  its  parts  and 
details,  if  a  thorough  knowledge  of  its  most  promi- 
nent features  is  gained.  (R  30.  L  55-64.). 

Means  of  time-economy.  In  the  scheme  for  re- 
vision five  ideas  are  prominent:  selection  and  elimi- 
nation in  subject  matter;  distinguishing  between 
formal  and  content  subjects  in  methods  of  instruc- 
tion; viewing  the  whole  course  of  study  in  the  light 
of  the  present  time;  adapting  matter  and  method  to 
well-defined  results  in  individual  development  and 

social  values;  relating  studies  to  real  life. What 

are  the  essential  consequences  of  the  time  scheme 
proposed,  in  terms  of  pedagogy?  Many  processes 
of  mental  training  are  easier  in  earlier  years.  Be- 
ginning high-school  methods  at  twelve  will  meet  the 
need  of  pupils  who  at  that  age  are  restless  and  seek- 
ing larger  and  more  varied  interests.  Twenty  is  a 
better  age  to  begin  genuine  university  work  than 
later  when  the  mind  is  less  elastic,  energetic,  and 
adaptable.  Elimination  of  useless  material  will 
stimulate  the  interest  of  pupils,  and  result  in  harder 
and  better  effort — the  time  would  be  filled  with  more 
important  work.  It  lessens  the  period  of  work  that 
appears  to  the  pupil  void  of  purpose.  It  makes  a 
better  division  of  time  between  receptive  study  and 
the  larger  motor  activities. Our  education  is 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  65 

wasteful  because  it  attempts  too  much,  uses  too  little 
judgment  in  the  choice  of  subjects  and  material,  and 

in   consequence  does  nothing  well. Knowledge 

and  power  come  from  the  use  of  a  few  typical 
things,  by  methods  that  beget  thought.  Inspiration 
often  springs  from  a  word  with  a  flash  of  insight. 

The  doctrine  that  all  subjects  have  a  like  value, 

should  be  taught  in  the  same  way  and  produce  the 
same  results,  I  believe  to  be  utterly  false  and  every- 
where harmful.  Some  fields  should  be  covered  by 
reading,  talks,  and  lectures  with  no  view  to  ex- 
amination.  History  read,  not  "studied",  under 

the  guidance  of  the  teacher,  may  be  made  inviting. 
Selections  in  literature,  chosen  for  their  intrinsic 
worth,  may  become  the  source  of  deep  and  perma- 
nent inspiration.  Many  of  the  "appreciations'*  of 
culture  do  not  call  for  a  large  place  in  the  time 

schedule. Culture    influences    come,    if    at    all, 

through  a  personality  or  a  suggestion  and  are  in- 
cidental to  the  day's  work. Even  at  the  risk  of 

being  misunderstood,  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  an 
examination  should  be  selective,  covering  only  the 
chief  points,  and  that  these  should  be  made  known  to 
the  students  in  their  review.  An  examination  should 
often  be  more  a  thesis  than  a  quiz.(R  27.  N  173.  N 
58.  N  165.  N  167.  R  27.  N  169.  R  50.). 

Higher  Pedagogy 

Sources.  We  never  shall  have  an  inspiring 
science  of  education  until  we  can  read  it  out  of 
writers  like  Kipling,  Stevenson,  Thackeray,  Dickens, 


66  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

out  of  the  Bible,  out  of  the  philosophers  and  poets — 
revelations  of  human  nature  surpassing  the  profes- 
sional formulas. The  pedagogy  of  ethics  is  still 

inadequate.  Bacon,  Pestalozzi,  Froebel,  Spencer, 
misunderstood  and  misapplied  as  they  aften  are,  may 
do  much  to  weaken  a  healthy  philosophy  of  educa- 
tion and  life.  There  is  a  lack  of  food  that  makes 
men  of  sterner  stuff.  For  the  higher  psychology  of 
ethics  turn  to  Plato,  the  Old  Testament  Proverbs 
that  "open  all  the  abysses  with  a  word",  the 
arousing  and  strengthening  forces  in  literature,  all 

prophets  of  the  soul. 1  know  no  source  of  growth 

better  than  biography — the  lives  of  men  that,  have 
been  the  leaders  of  civilization.  Within  a  few  years  I 
have  read  the  life  of  such  men  as  William  the  Silent, 
Bismarck,  Tennyson,  Stevenson,  Huxley,  Phillips 
Brooks,  and  Gladstone — warriors,  statesmen,  poets, 
scientists,  ministers  of  religion — men  who  have 
given  the  world  the  expression  of  their  best  thought 
and  power.  In  biography  we  see  ideals  embodied, 
theories  exemplified,  the  whole  conduct  of  life 

mapped    out    for   guidance. 1   like   to   discover 

philosophy  in  the  literature  of  the  day.  Kipling  at 
his  best  sounds  great  moral  depths,  and  teaches  the 
lesson  of  life's  discipline.  "L'Envoi"  of  the  "Seven 
Seas"  suggests  the  creed  of  a  healthy  soul:  to  ac- 
cept true  criticism;  to  find  joy  in  work;  to  be  honest 
in  the  search  for  truth;  to  believe  that  all  our  labor 
is  under  God,  the  source  of  all  knowledge  and  all 
good.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  is  great  as  a  novelist ; 
he  is  greater  in  his  brief  writings  and  his  letters. 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  6^ 

His  lessons,  "learned  in  the  fire",  are  that  morals, 
the  conscience,  and  the  affections  are  infinitely  more 
important  than  the  other  parts  of  life;  that  mis- 
fortune and  suffering  are  accidents  and  should  not 
color  the  view  of  life;  and  that  we  were  not  put  here 
to  enjoy  ourselves,  indeed  would  not  accept  happi- 
ness in  place  of  effort.  Biography  is  the  best  source 
of  practical  ideals;  it  is  philosophy  teaching  by  ex- 
ample; the  personal  element  gives  force  to  abstract 
truths.  The  biography  of  Gladstone  reveals  the 
grandeur  of  a  life  filled  with  great  interests,  sane 
purposes,  and  perpetual  action.  Were  I  to  seek  an 
epic  for  its  power  to  influence,  I  would  go  to  real 
history  and  choose  the  life  of  William  the  Silent. 
(N  181.  N  183.  P  168.  L  159-61.). 

Character 

Broad  principles.  Our  educational  philosophy  at 
times  wanders  in  dangerous  bypaths,  but  there  is 
a  recent  return  to  the  plain  highway.  Some  late 
notable  utterances  maintain  that  character  must  be 
formed  by  struggle,  that  a  good  impulse  must  prove 
its  quality  by  a  good  act,  that  education  is  self-effort, 
and  that  passive  reception  of  knowledge  and  rules 
of  conduct  may  make  mental  and  moral  paupers. 

Highly   useful   character   is  based  on   certain 

culture  elements:  breadth  and  dignity  of  view,  per- 
ception of  the  best,  optimism,  a  deep  sense  of  the 
Christian  code  and  the  Gothic  honor.  On  the  active 
side,  it  is  the  habit  of  choosing  the  best  when  seen; 
it  is  dignity  of  conduct  as  well  as  of  ideas;  it  is  force 


68  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

and  accomplishment. Life  is  not  a  chaos  of  im- 
pulses, or  a  series  of  events,  or  a  sum  of  accidents; 
it  is  an  organized  and  regulated  and  purposeful 

character. Moral    growth   must   be    growth    in 

freedom.  Rules  and  maxims,  petty  prohibitions  and 
restraints  alone  will  not  make  morality,  but  rather 
bare  mechanism  and  habit.  A  moral  life  should  be 

self-active,  vigorous,  joyous,  and  free. Natural 

growth  of  character  that  consists  less  in  repression 
and  more  in  expression  under  interest  and  guidance 
— a  wonderful  economy  of  growth  force — is  a  rec- 
ognized principle.  And  religion  is  alive  to  questions 
of  the  hour,  sees  that  it  should  regard  life  in  its  com- 
pleteness and  pervade  all  its  interests,  bringing  a 
sympathy  with  all  that  is  healthful  and  right,  adding 
joy  and  beauty  as  well  as  duty  to  indifferent  lives. 

Convictions  of  right,  purposes  that  aim  true  and 

reach  far,  the  courage  of  duty  that  grips  the  soul,  the 
will  that  reigns  a  king, — these  are  the  measure  of 
real  life.  (L  159.  L  190.  N  15.  N  74.  L  115.  N  28-9. 
N82.). 

Struggle  and  character.  Some  recent  and  notable 
inductions  of  physiological  psychology  along  the 
lines  of  evolution  reaffirm  that  without  pain  there 
can  be  no  happiness,  that  without  struggle  there  can 
be  no  positive  character,  that  at  times  punishment 
may  be  most  salutary,  and  that  a  deadhead  in  society 
degenerates  as  does  a  parasite  in  the  animal  kingdom. 
We  may  believe  that  evolution  as  applied  to  the 
spiritual  nature  of  man  is  indeed  becoming  a  hopeful 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  69 

doctrine. Pleasure  is  not  the  end  of  action,  but 

merely  accompanies  the  putting  forth  of  activity.  We 
are  not  to  aim  at  a  good,  but  to  act  the  good.  We 
are  not  to  work  for  pleasure,  but  to  find  pleasure  in 
working.  Cultivate  the  will  that  goes  beyond  the 
solicitation  of  present  pleasure,  that  can  suffer  and 
persevere  and  refuse  pleasure  and  endure  and  work 
out  good  and  useful  results. If  there  is  a  train- 
ing for  perdition,  it  is  in  following  caprice,  knowing 
no  want,  enduring  no  hardship,  and  doing  no  work. 

The  latest  teaching  of  physiological  psychology 

takes  us  back  to  the  stern  philosophy  of  the  self- 
denying  Puritan,  and  shows  that  we  must  conquer  our 
habitual  inclinations,  and  encounter  some  disagree- 
able duty  every  day  to  prepare  for  the  emergencies 
that  demand  men  of  sterner  stuff.  (L  190.  L  112-14. 
N68.L90.). 

Will.  A  person,  who  is  able  to  choose  a  worthy 
aim,  to  decide  what,  upon  the  whole,  is  the  best 
course  of  conduct,  and  is  willing  to  waive  present 
enjoyment  and  all  minor  considerations  until  the  end 
is  attained,  is  said  to  possess  perseverence,  the  great- 
est element  of  success. The  will  that  is  firm  under 

evil  chance,  that  meets  disaster  and  begins  the  strug- 
gle anew,  that  can  work  on  when  little  is  left  but 
will;  the  will  that  can  lead  firmly  to  a  far  goal,  and 
keep  steady  under  good  and  bad  fortune;  the  will 
that  throughout  all  remains  the  "good  will"  and  can 
affirm  the  Golden  Rule, — this  is  wonderfully  de- 
scribed in  Kipling's  poem  entitled  "If". The  will 


70  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

that  can  bring  blessedness  out  of  pain  and  sorrow, 
that  can  convert  weakness  into  strength  and  humility 
into  success  seems  a  paradox,  but  in  reality  is  the  will 
under  the  supreme  test  in  which  it  may  attain  moral 
sublimity.  (E  217.  N  71.  N  73.). 

A  modern  copy  of  an  old  ideal.  Suppose  it  might 
be  said  of  a  typical  student  today,  according  to  the 
Greek  ideal  for  youth — For  health  and  strength  and 
niental  poise  and  growth  as  well  as  for  recreation, 
he  is  an  athlete.  He  has  few  morbid  tendencies, 
since  his  manner  of  education  and  habits  of  life  de- 
velop normal  impulses  that  reach  out  toward  what- 
ever is  good  or  beautiful.  He  gladly  converses  with 
learned  men  that  he  m'ay  become  a  better  and  more 
responsible  member  of  the  commonwealth.  He  even 
turns  to  philosophy  and  gets  a  glimpse  of  ultimate 
ideas  and  a  larger  view  of  life.  He  makes  his  guid- 
ing principle  a  good  that  aims  at  complete  mental 
growth  and  a  virtue  that  calls  for  his  best  effort. 
When  he  becomes  an  active  citizen,  in  the  manner  of 
the  civic  oath  of  the  Greek  he  resolves  to  defend  the 
honor  of  his  country,  to  disgrace  no  worthy  cause,  to 
work  for  the  comman  good,  to  respect  the  law  and 
reverence  God,  to  leave  his  country  better  for  his 
work  and  example.  Because  of  his  education  and 
character,  he  finds  joy  in  living,  pleasure  in  mental 
growth,  satisfaction  in  whatever  is  highest  and  best. 
As  he  comes  to  take  a  more  serious  view  of  life,  he 
adopts  permanently  the  standard  virtues  of  temper- 
ance, courage,  wisdom,  and  justice,  but  with  no  super- 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  71 

ficial  understanding  of  their  worth,  for  he  has  gone 
deeply  into  their  meaning  and  knows  their  spiritual 
significance  as  well  as  their  prudential  value,  knows 
them  to  be  the  cardinal  elements  of  a  rich  soul  as  well 
as  of  a  well-ordered  life.  He  has  a  refinement  that 
shrinks  from  moral  deformity,  and  is  largely  proof 
against  low  pleasure.  He  is  not  a  worshiper  of 
wealth,  for  life  itself  is  so  much  richer  than  the  means 
of  living.  He  has  little  sense  of  painful  duty,  for 
his  growth  has  been  normal  and  hence  free,  joyous, 
and  full.  Such,  I  believe,  is  a  fairly  honest  picture 
of  the  Greek  ideal  for  youth,  made  an  ideal  of  youth 
today — to  see  how  it  fits.  (N  42.) . 

Permanent  Value* 

Humanism.  Humanism,  as  usually  defined,  stands 
for  doctrine,  discipline,  restraint,  selection,  and  dig- 
nity of  character.  Doctrine  represented  the  best  ideas 
and  standards;  discipline,  the  education  of  youth  in 
the  best  principles;  restraint,  the  safeguarding  of  life 
in  harmony  with  principles;  selection,  choosing  the 
best  in  ideas  and  in  men;  dignity  of  character,  the 
result  of  training  in  accord  with  ideals.  It  discrim- 
inates among  values,  stands  for  quality  rather  than 
quantity,  for  character  rather  than  power  and  suc- 
cess.  Humanism  believes  in  the  value  of  organ- 
ized and  transmitted  knowledge,  in  discipline  from 
studies,  in  selection  of  the  best.  It  accepts  and  uses 
the  best  in  tradition,  and  works  on  the  plan  of  keep- 
ing civilization  alive.  It  believes  in  pure  ideals,  in 
standards  of  excellence  and  character.  It  appreciates 


72  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

the  importance  of  the  higher  view-point  that  shows 
things  in  their  right  proportion,  extent  of  vision,  the 
self-possession  that  is  not  swayed  by  mob  sentiment 
or  led  astray  by  long  discarded  false  doctrines.  It 
advocates  a  culture  that  has  a  moral  backbone.  It 
places  character  above  success  and  wisdom  above 
knowledge.  Since  humanism  is  interest  in  the  lives 
and  thoughts  of  men  as  revealed  in  language,  liter- 
ature, and  history,  it  may  include  all  the  implications 
of  his  nature.  Hence  it  stands  for  an  idealism  that 
makes  of  the  universe  a  living  thing,  sees  in  it  a  uni- 
versal will,  holds  as  supreme  some  form  of  reverence, 
and  a  mighty  faith  in  the  affirmative  side  of  things. 
Withal  it  stands  for  real  progress,  wise  sympathy, 
and  a  democracy  that  gives  a  just  opportunity  for 

nobility  of  intellect  and  character. The  spirit  of 

humanism  has  often  been  self-centered,  exclusive, 
autocratic,  arrogant,  and  contemptuous  of  labor.  It 
must  seek  subjective  worth  through  objective  interest 
in  human  welfare  and  progress,  though  in  a  spirit 
tempered  by  history  and  science. The  new  human- 
ism has  for  its  basis  a  knowledge  of  sociology,  poli- 
tics, philosophy,  history,  literature,  and  art.  Philos- 
ophy must  have  an  immediate  vision,  psychology  and 
literature  must  deal  with  the  urgent  hunger  in  the 
soul  today,  sociology  must  strike  a  chord  of  sympathy. 
(N52.  N  178.  R4i.  R45-). 

General  education.  General  education  is  the  rich 
soil  from  which  spring  all  higher  practical  interests. 
The  success  of  the  old  culture  in  making  organizers 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  73 

and  leaders  in  every  line  of  progress  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  imparted  great  conceptions :  the  philosophy  of 
Plato  and  Aristotle,  the  poetry  of  Homer  and  Virgil, 
the  orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero,  the  biogra- 
phy of  great  men  and  the  history  of  great  civiliza- 
tions.  The  man  who  is  master  of  a  comprehensive 

principle  is  hundred-handed,  who  has  been  faithful 
in  devotion  to  a  few  fundamental  sciences  may  be- 
come master  over  many  things. It  would  be  well, 

before  it  is  too  late  and  general  education  is  reckoned 
among  the  lost  arts,  to  send  a  questionnaire  to  the  old 
boys  and  learn  how  many  are  stout  in  the  belief  that 
their  real  education  came  from  drill  in  arithmetic, 
English  grammar,  Latin,  and  formal  logic;  that  from 
these  studies  they  gained  accuracy,  power  of  thought 
and  expression,  the  detective  and  determining  skill  of 
the  scientific  method,  and  readiness  to  discover  falla- 
cies in  the  field  of  argument  and  business;  that  their 
system,  accuracy,  and  scope  in  practical  affairs  are 
largely  due  to  formal  training.  (P  100.  N  146.  N 
168.). 

Culture.  In  contrast  with  Kultur,  culture  stands 
forth  clearly  as  a  vital  element  in  education.  We 
must  construct  a  philosophy  based  on  ethical  grounds. 
We  should  be  more  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the 
highest  efficiency  is  spiritual,  and  that  all  learning, 
even  the  most  practical,  should  be  permeated  with  a 

sense  of  absolute  values. We  are  not  a  cultured 

people  until  we  can  appreciate  oratorios  and  chorals 
as  well  as  ragtime,  can  write  real  literature  and  pro- 


74  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

duce  great  art,  until  honor  is  a  stronger  motive  than 
gain,  in  short  until  we  convert  the  wealth  of  things 
into  wealth  of  soul,  grossness  into  refinement,  and 
power  into  justice.  Culture,  moreover,  gives  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  life  and  its  values,  enthrones  honor 
and  justice,  reveals  the  beauty  of  holiness,  the  broad- 
ening, deepening,  and  enriching  power  of  religious 

insight  and  experience. This  age  calls  for  a  more 

abundant  life,  resourceful  at  the  center,  active  in  the 
midst  of  affairs.  The  humanities  have  broadened 
into  a  universal  human  interest.  The  scholar  should 
be  the  minister  of  a  new  idealism  that  centers  in  the 
present  place  and  time  and  duty,  though  related  to  the 
universe. — Culture  has  too  often  meant  false  refine- 
ment, mere  polish  and  conventionality,  surface  ap- 
pearance and  inner  hypocrisy;  it  has  stood  for  pedan- 
try and  for  extreme  egotism,  looking  toward  personal 
enjoyment  and  superiority;  it  has  sometimes  meant 
nothing  but  genteel  laziness  and  has  always  been  too 

much  separated  from  practical  action. Culture 

today  must  include  scientific  interest,  useful  power, 
and  a  spirit  of  service,  as  well  as  mental  refinement, 

or  it  is  not  adapted  to  the  age. Today  religion 

and  ethics  and  poetry  and  philosophy  and  science  must 
be  realized  in  practical  life.  The  philosophy  is  not 
Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star,  but  Hitch  your  star  to 

a  wagon. In  the  future,  education  will  not  be 

mere  "learning",  but  it  will  emphasize  social  duties — 
removal  of  poverty,  protection  of  the  public  health, 
promotion  of  honest  business,  clean  politics,  wise  leg- 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  75 

islation,  and  increase  of  general  enlightenment,  vir- 
tue, and  happiness. Education  today  is  prepara* 

tion  for  the  responsibilities  of  today.  The  church 
exists  for  works  as  well  as  faith,  ethics  for  practice, 
culture  for  use,  brawn  for  industry.  The  age  of  the 
dawdler  and  dreamer,  the  gentleman  of  leisure,  and 
the  mere  scholar  is  past. If  the  average  grad- 
uate has  not  attained  somewhat  in  efficiency,  culture, 
and  character,  and  a  considerable  degree  in  at  least 
one  of  these,  his  training  has  been  a  failure.  If  he 
proves  a  dilettante  or  a  sloth  depending  on  unearned 
wealth,  if  he  becomes  a  professional  club  man  too 
selfish  to  desire  a  home  and  too  indifferent  to  civic 
duty  to  deserve  a  country,  if  he  merely  enjoys  the  privi- 
leges of  his  rank  without  assuming  its  obligations  and 
stands  apart  from  the  body  of  citizens  who  may  have 
less  refinement  but  more  worth,  he  deserves  the  ana- 
thema of  the  people. The  aristocrat,  in  spirit, 

will  be  a  Christianized  Greek,  a  democratized  auto- 
crat, a  humanized  humanist — a  scholastic  prig  turned 
good  fellow.  He  will  be  a  devotee  of  the  "research 
magnificent" — to  know  and  to  help  humanity.  He 
will  seek  to  establish  a  republic  of  co-thinkers  and 
co-workers  for  great  causes.  (W  124.  N  10.  N  133-4. 
P92-3.  R4i.N7.  R5.P64.N  17.  W  176.).  ' 

The  Modern  University 

Definition.  Are  we  not  ready  for  a  genuine  uni- 
versity? We  may  conceive  that  the  genuine  Ameri- 
can University  will  have  a  faculty  of  the  sciences 
and  humanities  in  place  of  the  graduate  school  and 


76  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

with  larger  functions;  that  beside  this  will  be  placed 
the  professional  schools  and  schools  of  applied  science, 
and  whatever  additional  schools  or  departments  are 
required  in  the  development  of  our  varied  industries 
and  in  our  social  progress ;  that  it  will  combine  teach- 
ing, research,  and  the  applications  of  science.  It  will 
differ  from  the  English  university  in  having  more 
definite  professional  and  technical  schools;  from  the 
German  in  retaining  more  culture  courses.  Like  the 
French  it  will  emphasize  citizenship;  in  full  relation 
with  democracy,  it  will  extend  its  service  to  all  needs 
of  society  and  state.  With  greater  efficiency  through- 
out the  school  system,  the  student  will  graduate  from 
college  and  enter  the  university  at  about  the  age  of 
twenty.  This  is  the  time  when  the  mind  is  eager  and 
adaptable  and  is  ready  to  take  up  specialized  and 

constructive  work. To  meet  the  modern  need,  the 

courses  in  the  general  faculty  would  include  the 
classics  with  the  emphasis  on  the  literature  rather  than 
the  language;  economic  and  sociological  studies  pre- 
sented in  the  humanistic  spirit;  pure  science,  including 
the  discovery  of  principles;  and  the  problems  of  edu- 
cation. For  the  majority,  specials  schools,  depart- 
ments, or  groups  would  be  required — those  to  whom 
learning  for  learning's  sake  or  for  general  discipline 
and  harmonious  growth  would  not  appeal.  There 
are  definite  directions  for  the  development  of  knowl- 
edge, determined  in  part  by  well-known  needs  of  so- 
ciety, and  it  is  the  business  of  the  graduate  school  to 
see  that  investigation  is  pursued  in  the  most  fertile 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  77 

fields,  and  to  discover  the  purpose  and  adaptation  of 
the  student  and  help  him  find  his  place.  Should  not 
the  graduate  school  be  a  place  for  constructive  work, 
for  play  of  imagination,  enthusiasm,  creative  power — 
a  place  for  real  fellowship  of  eager  minds  pursuing 
the  paths  of  knowledge  in  freedom,  a  fellowship 

shared  in  common  by  teachers  and  students? The 

professor,  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  discovery  and 
retaining  his  youth  and  zeal,  will  be  more  than  the 
formal  guide  and  teacher.  The  lecture,  library,  lab- 
oratory, and  conference  will  invite  work,  require  ini- 
tiative, and  create  an  easy  and  sympathetic  relation 
between  master  and  disciple. There  is  the  great- 
est work  ahead  in  psychology,  philosophy,  sociology, 
and  economics,  for  they  mean  no  less  than  the  gradual 
reorganization  of  society.  The  university  will  be 
judged  as  it  increases  knowledge.  The  purpose  of 
the  university  is  not  uto  drill,  but  to  create".  There 
is  danger  of  standardizing  discovery,  of  measuring  it 
by  hours  and  by  immediate  results.  The  product  in 
power  of  our  present  graduate  schools  is  disappoint- 
ing. The  thesis  of  the  average  Ph.D.,  here  and 
abroad,  hardly  measures  up  to  the  standard  expected 
by  the  interested  layman.  It  is  usually  a  work  of 
immaturity,  a  clerical  performance  dealing  with  triv- 
ial and  inconsequent  phases  of  a  subject,  revealing  no 
original  thought  and  drawing  no  valuable  conclusions. 

In  the  genuine  university  the  student  will  have 

larger  freedom.  The  spirit  of  the  administration, 
its  vision  and  ideal  aim,  are  chief  in  importance.  The 


78  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

university  will  aim  at  academic  freedom,  and  the 
highest  degree  of  democratic  rule  consistent  with  effi- 
cient organization.  It  will  have  the  fewest  possible 
regulations  and  formalities.  It  will  advertise  by  let- 
ting its  light  shine.  (R  74.  R  94.  R  83.  R  87.  R 
138.). 

State  Universities;  Theology;  Academic  Free- 
dom. The  State  University  represents  ( i )  the  com- 
pletion of  the  democratic  ideal  of  education;  (2)  the 
unity  of  progress  amidst  diversity  of  view,  and  the 
mutual  influence  of  the  knowledge  and  power  of  the 
scholar  and  the  ideals  of  the  people;  (3)  the  broad 
platform  upon  which  the  heterogeneous  elements  of 
the  state  may  unite  in  the  interest  of  higher  education. 
In  the  earlier  history  of  the  University  of  Colo- 
rado, a  movement,  joined  by  prominent  ministers  of 
seven  or  eight  great  religious  denominations,  was 
started  to  establish  an  independent  school  of  theology 
in  close  relation  to  the  University.  I  sometimes  won- 
der whether  this  was  not  a  premature  attempt  at  an 
ideal  yet  to  be  realized  in  the  American  universities. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  absolute  freedom,  nor 

should  there  be.  Only  the  truth  is  to  be  spoken,  but 
it  is  not  to  be  spoken  at  all  times.  Sometimes  alleged 
interference  with  thought  is  simply  an  objection  to 
indiscreet  expression  and  bad  taste  and  unwise  judg- 
ment, which  unfit  a  man  for  the  position  of  teacher. 
If  one  lets  the  light  of  general  principles  shine,  it 
will  gradually  overcome  the  darkness.  (L  135.  R  72. 
R85.). 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  79 

Universities  and  democracy.  So  long  as  the  aver- 
age legislator  will  deride  an  apt  reference  to  ancient 
history,  or  foreign  usage,  and  reject  expert  knowl- 
edge; so  long  as,  in  considering  the  ills  of  society, 
effects  are  treated  and  causes  ignored;  so  long  as 
anarchists  have  faith  in  violence,  and  socialists  dream 
of  impossible  Utopias,  and  conservatives  refuse  to  see 
justice  in  some  of  the  claims  of  labor  or  the  need  of 
social  reform,  higher  education  will  be  called  upon  to 

provide  learned  and  sane  leaders. One  of  the 

most  significant  movements  of  modern  education  is 
the  organized  effort  to  secure  efficient  government 
and  social  betterment  through  cooperation  of  the  uni- 
versity with  municipal  and  state  departments,  and 

with  charities  and  philanthropies. Unless  in  the 

name  of  service,  the  schools  develop  in  future  citi- 
zens apt  qualities,  they  fail  as  an  instrument  of  democ- 
racy. The  universities  must  extend  their  interest  to 
all  questions  of  human  welfare  and  justify  their  worth 
in  the  minds  of  the  people.  (R  15.  R  1 18.  R  17.)- 

The  college.  The  college  will  be  broad  enough, 
not  only  for  cultured  leisure  and  the  need  of  the 
learned  professions,  but  for  business,  and  for  the  aver- 
age citizen  in  whatever  occupation.  The  majority  of 
students  will  take  the  more  direct  routes  to  voca- 
tions. For  the  average  student  the  humanities  will 
be  limited  to  literature,  social  interest,  and  civic  duty. 
Traditional  courses  will  be  for  those  who  have  a  pur- 
pose and  appreciate  their  opportunity. To  dis- 
cover men  of  superior  ability  who  have  an  ambition 


80  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

for  large  things,  who  may  become  great  scholars, 
thinkers,  leaders,  inventors  in  the  material  or  spiritual 
realm,  may  be  the  highest  service  of  the  teacher.  I 
sometimes  question  whether  there  should  not  be  an 
open  door  for  the  special  student  who  has  an  idea 
but  is  impatient  of  standards  of  admission,  formali- 
ties, and  restraints;  he  may  prove  to  be  a  construc- 
tive thinker. Appreciative  reading,  which  stim- 
ulates noble  ambition,  opens  up  far  visions,  gives 
perspective  and  proportion  and  relative  values, 
broadens  and  strengthens  the  spirit,  reveals  great 
principles  of  life — this  is  the  test  by  which  the  scholar 
and  the  college  must  be  tried. Student  responsi- 
bility in  college  is  to  be  encouraged.  Students  possess 
more  business  ability  and  judicial  wisdom  than  is 
usually  ascribed  to  them.  In  many  instances  they 
show  themselves  more  able  than  faculty  committees. 
(R46.  R83.  R66.  Ryo.). 

National  University.  I  mean  by  a  national  uni- 
versity a  great  postgraduate  institution,  wonderfully 
equipped,  with  professors  representing  the  progress 
and  culture  of  the  world,  standing  as  an  ideal  interest 
of  Congress  and  of  the  American  people,  in  touch 
with  the  people,  and  helping  the  people  come  to  a 
consciousness  of  the  true  ideals  of  democracy,  and 

spreading  those  ideas  over  the  civilized  world. • 

My  argument  now  is  not  on  the  practical  value  of  a 
national  university — that  it  would  correlate  and  econ- 
omize and  make  more  efficient  the  scientific  agencies 
at  Washington,  that  it  would  be  the  means  of  study- 


VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  8  I 

ing  every  problem  of  universal  interest,  that  it  could 
organize  the  work  of  every  important  investigation 
and  get  the  cooperation  of  the  universities  of  the 
country,  that  it  would  aid  and  strengthen  and  stim- 
ulate the  scholarship  of  all  universities,  that  it  would 
increase  our  material  welfare,  that  it  would  foster  our 
national  pride  and  patriotism — my  argument  is  con- 
cerned with  the  deeper  thought  of  a  union  between 
democracy  and  higher  learning.  I  believe  we  shall 
have  a  safe  and  high  development  of  our  civilization 
when  essential  university  learning  relates  itself  to  ev- 
ery human  interest  and  problem,  and  the  people  strive 
for  and  make  their  own  all  that  the  best  in  learning 
and  leadership  represents.  Culture,  pure  science,  so- 
cial justice,  absolute  values,  must  be  erected  in  our 
pantheon  as  well  as  the  gods  of  success.  These  must 
command  the  reverence  of  the  people  and  stand  for 
the  spirit  of  government  and  of  public  officials.  Edu- 
cation must  be  the  fourth  estate  in  a  democratic  gov- 
ernment. (P  219.  N  159-61.). 


VI     AT  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

Note 

The  presidency  of  the  University  of  Colorado 
dates  from  January,  1892,  to  January,  1914.  One 
may  well  hesitate  before  venturing  to  review  his  own 
part  in  an  important  period  of  an  institution's  his- 
tory. Properly  he  will  present  neither  an  extremely 
critical  nor  a  laudatory  view.  He  may  hope  to  be 
frank  and  fair,  but  the  picture  will  lack  somewhat  in 
color.  It  is  fortunate  that  in  the  perspective  of  the 
years  things  are  seen  in  a  more  nearly  true  proportion 
and  relation.  Many  occurrences  that  loomed  large 
seem  trivial  and  the  tragic  is  often  turned  into  com- 
edy; unpleasant  features  fade  away  and  only  the  con- 
structive work  and  the  more  important  events  remain 
prominent. 

Some  Traits 

Naturally  somewhat  prone  to  solitude  but  with  an 
acquired  social  habit,  naturally  austere  but  with  a  sav- 
ing element  of  flexibility,  ever  an  optimist  but  always 
with  the  worst  in  view,  an  idealist  but  with  a  con- 
stant aim  at  practical  realization,  strong  in  a  perse- 
vering will  power — these  are  "auto-views"  of  some 
personal  characteristics.  Overwork,  especially  in  the 
Yarmouth  days,  had  left  its  effects  and  they  some- 
times reappeared  in  the  busy  times  of  an  exacting 
vocation,  when  duties  had  to  be  met  with  grim  deter- 
mination. A  strong  constitution  usually  brought 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  83 

speedy  reactions.  A  graduate,  sitting  on  one  occa- 
sion as  my  neighbor  at  a  banquet,  said,  uDo  you  still 
have  those  terrible  attacks  of  nervous  dyspepsia?" 
After  a  hopeful  reply,  and  after  some  moments  of 
apparently  serious  meditation  on  his  part,  he  ended, 
uNot  conducive  to  amiability,  were  they?"  A  former 
student  gleefully  relates  the  following:  "I  met  Pres- 
ident Baker  in  San  Francisco.  I  said,  my  name  is 

,  and  he  replied,  'Ah?'     I  further  explained 

that  I  had  been  a  student  at  the  University — 'Glad  to 
see  you.'  I  asked  if  he  did  not  remember  me  since 
I  was  in  various  student  affairs  and  met  him  often — 
'Don't  quite  recall.'  I  urged  that  he  would  recognize 
me  when  I  confessed  that  I  helped  put  the  cow  in  the 
chapel  and  was  on  the  carpet  for  it — 'Seems  to  me  I 
do  remember  the  cow.'  ' 

Recreation— Mountain   Climbing 

As  in  the  earlier  days,  to  maintain  health,  to  work 
off  the  feeling  of  monotony  and  weariness,  and  to 
meet  the  desire  for  change  and  adventure,  frequent 
tramps  were  taken  in  the  mountains.  Nowhere  is  a 
more  inviting  place  for  short  excursions.  Lying  at 
the  base  of  the  foothills,  where  the  grays  and  reds 
of  the  rocks,  the  evergreen  growths,  the  autumn  yel- 
lows and  browns  and  purples,  the  low-resting 
clouds  on  stormy  days,  grand  and  solemn  and  tragic, 
made  changing  pictures,  the  University  was  happily 
located.  This  is  part  of  a  description  which  I  wrote 
some  years  ago : 


84  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

I  have  seen,  here,  the  hillsides  painted  with  pur- 
ple and  red,  or  covered  with  dark  green,  lighted 
here  and  there  with  crimson  and  yellow,  and 
changing  under  deep  shadows.  In  late  autumn 
along  the  ravines  I  have  seen  the  bare  shrubs 
with  the  glory  of  old  gold  running  along  their 
tops,  transmuted  in  winter  into  silver  and  re- 
placed in  spring  with  emerald.  And  on  dark 
days  deep  blue  has  settled  upon  the  near  moun- 
tain, while  the  summit  was  crowned  with  heavy 
clouds  and  mists,  mysterious  and  solemn  as  the 
heights  where  God  gave  laws  to  his  people.  And 
on  some  dome  or  crag  I  have  felt  the  mind  an- 
swer to  the  call  of  grandeur  and  beauty  and 
grow  into  harmony  with  the  scene. 

A  ten  minutes'  walk  brought  you  to  steep  hills  or 
entrant  canons.  Old  trails  partly  overgrown,  sum- 
mits pine-covered,  deep  slopes  with  dense  glooms, 
broad  sweeps,  hills  rising  to  mountains  offered  an  un- 
ending variety  of  walks.  I  have  a  vivid  memory  of 
a  climb  at  night  up  through  a  spruce  wood  in  a  fierce 
thunderstorm,  with  incessant  flashes  lighting  up  the 
scene.  The  faculty  were  sometimes  inveigled  into 
these  trips,  and  on  two  occasions  I,  as  self-constituted 
guide,  lost  the  way  on  obscure  trails.  There  is  one 
picture  of  a  professor  standing  in  an  open  space,  knee- 
deep  in  snow,  bareheaded,  invoking  high  heaven 
against  the  author  of  his  woes.  Another  excursion 
found  the  party  far  astray  and  enquiring  of  me  bit- 
terly, "Where  are  we?"  The  reply,  "We  are  between. 


Al     THE     UNIVERSITY.  85 

that  mountain  range  on  the  left  and  the  foothills  on 
the  right,  and  the  scenery  is  good ;  what  more  do  you 
want?"  was  unsatisfactory  and  they  swore,  "Never 
again!"  One  day  we,  father  and  small  son  and  a 
neighbor's  boy,  planned  a  climb  to  Green  Mountain, 
taking  along  our  family  dog,  a  huge  mastiff.  We 
chose  by  way  of  approach  a  ravine  with  high  precipi- 
tous banks.  We  proceeded  without  incident  until  the 
dog,  disheartened  by  the  difficulties  of  the  way  and 
terrified  by  the  threatening  aspects  of  nature,  made  a 
break  for  home,  leaving  his  collar  in  our  hands  as 
evidence  of  the  futile  struggle  to  hold  him.  As  we 
advanced  we  met  a  professor  returning  homeward, 
and,  seeing  possible  need  ahead,  he  was  pressed  into 
service.  As  we  neared  the  summit  the  boys  fell  be- 
hind and  formed  a  conspiracy :  they  had  no  desire  to 
view  from  the  height  the  glories  of  the  landscape, 
and  they  had  no  pride  in  accomplishment;  they  were 
tired  and  hungry  and  were  going  to  rest  and  have 
their  lunch  then  and  there,  and  that  was  final.  Seeing 
at  once  that  here  was  a  great  moral  issue,  we  seized 
the  boys  gently  by  the  collar,  led  them  forthwith  to 
the  summit,  made  them  climb  to  the  highest  point  of 
the  highest  rock,  and  swing  their  caps  in  token  of  vic- 
tory, after  which  we  rested  and  ate.  On  the  way 
back,  we  could  hear  the  boys  in  boastful  colloquy: 
"We  didn't  stop  to  rest,  did  me?"  "Of  course  not." 
"We  went  clear  up,  didn't  we?"  "You  bet  we  did." 
And  the  lesson  was  worth  something  to  the  character 
of  the  boys.  We  found  the  mastiff  at  home  with  a 


86  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

"hang-dog"  look;  he  was  ashamed.  Later,  invited 
to  go  with  us,  he  at  first  refused,  but  finally  reluctant- 
ly yielded.  At  the  first  difficulty  he  showed  signs  of 
panic,  but  we  helped  him  over  the  obstacle,  patted 
and  praised  him,  and  stimulated  his  pride  and  cour- 
age. Before  the  end  of  the  day  he  was  running 
wildly  about  seeking  new  obstacles  to  surmount.  It 
helped  his  dog-character.  One  excursion  with  a  new 
faculty  member  to  a  transmountain  lake,  and  return 
over  a  high  pass  left  most  vivid  impressions.  The 
trip  began  in  bodily  and  mental  weariness,  and,  after 
some  two  weeks  of  a  choice  variety  of  hardships^ 
ended  in  completely  renewed  strength.  This  experi- 
ence was  referred  to  in  a  later  writing: 

A  little  personal  experience,  trivial  as  it  is,  may 
help  illustrate  a  principle.  For  some  thirty  years 
in  a  busy  life,  I  had  had  few  opportunities  for 
"roughing  it."  More  recently,  partly  by  chance, 
I  took  an  "outing"  for  a  couple  of  weeks  which 
required  much  endurance.  At  first  every  instance 
of  annoyance  or  hardship  made  a  vivid  impres- 
sion. The  mosquito  bite,  fishline  entangled  in 
a  tree,  the  accidental  plunge  into  a  morass, 
pushing  through  rough  thickets,  blistered  feet 
seemed  so  important  that  I  became  ashamed 
and  said  to  myself,  "Go  ahead;  it  is  good  for 
your  soul!"  Later  was  the  climbing  of  a  moun- 
tain pass  in  the  early  morning,  in  mist  and  snow 
and  wind,  but  with  a  sense  of  courage  and  exul- 
tation. The  experience  was  in  important  ways 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  87 

like  a  renewal  of  youth,  and  I  value  it  as  an 
epoch  in  personal  development. 

These  things  are  related,  not  as  mere  anecdotes, 
but  because  contact  with  nature  is  the  best  means  of 
renewing  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual  power.  Cer- 
tainly it  was  a  remedy  that  enabled  one  patient  to 
carry  through  his  job. 

Plant  and   Policies 

I  had  a  happy  acquaintance  with  the  first  two  presi- 
dents of  the  University,  and  a  somewhat  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  University's  affairs.  These  men 
had  gone  through  the  initial  period  of  struggle  and 
sacrifice.  President  Sewall  had  firmly  established  the 
scientific  side  of  the  University;  President  Hale  had 
created  a  better  understanding  with  the  public.  Pres- 
ident Sewall  often  described  a  visit  by  an  Eastern 
tourist.  After  relating  the  story  of  the  traveler  in 
Southern  Missouri  who  sought  vainly  at  a  wayside 
inn  for  entertainment  for  man  and  beast,  he  recounted 
as  follows:  "The  visitor  said  he  would  first  see  the 
library — 'Haven't  any  library ;'  then  he  would  examine 
the  chemical  laboratory — 'Haven't  any  chemical  lab- 
oratory;' then  the  physical  laboratory — 'Haven't 

any;'  in  disgust  he  asked  what  in we  did  have 

—  (with  a  general  wave  of  the  hand)  *A  Univer- 
sity.' '  In  those  days  the  old  Main  Building  was  the 
President's  house,  the  students'  dormitory,  the  lec- 
ture hall,  the  laboratory,  the  library,  the  chapel.  On 
the  campus  were  pastures,  pig  pens,  chicken  coops, 


88  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

and  a  slab  stable.  A  barn,  a  horseshed,  and  other 
outhouses  occupied  the  ground  of  the  present  quad- 
rangle. 

In  1892  the  University  was  at  the  first  stage  be- 
yond the  "beginning,"  and  far-reaching  plans  were  to 
be  marked  out.  These  included  a  public  challenge  to 
the  common  saying  that  the  institution  was  nothing 
but  a  high  school  for  Boulder;  more  income;  new 
buildings;  removal  of  the  Preparatory  School  by  an 
arrangement  with  Boulder  for  its  present  joint  use 
and  support  and  later  discontinuance  as  a  department 
of  the  University;  adding  a  Law  School,  a  College  of 
Engineering,  and  a  Graduate  School  to  the  Arts  Col- 
lege and  the  School  of  Medicine  which  then  consti- 
tuted the  University;  conducting  the  last  year  of  the 
Medical  Course  in  Denver;  establishing  a  Dental 
School  in  Denver.  All  the  plans  were  gradually  car- 
ried out,  although  in  a  few  years  the  Medical  Branch 
in  Denver  and  the  Dental  School  were  abandoned  be- 
cause of  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  that  the 
State  Constitution  located  all  departments  at  Boul- 
der. Later  the  Constitution  was  amended  to  grant 
the  right  to  maintain  the  departments  of  Medicine, 
Dentistry,  and  Pharmacy  in  Denver — except  the  first 
two  years.  The  fight  for  the  amendment  was  a  long 
one  and  demanded  courage  and  faith.  The  President 
foresaw  the  final  outcome,  that  rival  schools  would  be 
united  with  the  University  and  all  medical  education 
in  Colorado  come  under  the  control  of  the  State. 
There  was  more  than  intended  in  a  remark  of  an 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  89 

opposing  leader,  "That  Baker  doesn't  know 

when  he's  licked."  The  Summer  School,  the 
School  of  Pharmacy,  the  College  of  Educa- 
tion, the  College  of  Commerce,  the  School  of 
Social  and  Home  Service,  and  the  Extension 
Department  were  established  during  this  admin- 
istration. How  small  were  the  beginnings  of  the  new 
departments,  now  grown  strong,  can  hardly  be  un- 
derstood today.  The  College  of  Engineering  began 
with  a  drawing  board,  one  student,  and  a  third  of  a 
professor.  The  Law  School  was  run  the  first  year 
by  the  President's  secretary  who  was  a  law  graduate, 
and  unpaid  lecturers  from  Denver.  Even  the  Presi- 
dent gave  a  lecture  or  two  on  legal  ethics.  The  Dean 
was  Judge  Moses  Hallett,  and  the  Secretary,  Charles 
M.  Campbell.  These  names  gave  immediate  stand- 
ing and  hope  to  the  school.  The  boys  greatly  enjoyed 
the  stage  fright  of  the  great  legal  lights  on  their  first 
appearance.  An  attempt  to  found  a  School  of  Music 
and  an  independent  but  cooperative  School  of  Theol- 
ogy proved  abortive.  But  seven  leading  preachers 
from  as  many  denominations  agreed  to  organize  a 
School  on  the  plan  of  using  university  courses  for  the 
first  year,  cooperation  between  the  denominations  for 
the  second  year,  and  group  instruction  for  the  third 
year.  Some  lectures  were  begun  in  Boulder.  But  the 
"hard  times"  of  1893  prevented  any  successful  at- 
tempt to  raise  needed  funds.  Doubtless  the  effort 
was  premature,  perhaps  under  any  conditions  imprac- 
ticable, although  the  idea  has  received  recognition 


90  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

in  a  similar  attempt  recently  made  by  another  uni- 
versity. 

The  Regents  had  given  a  rather  free  hand, 
and  many  risks  were  to  be  taken.  In  carrying  out  the 
various  projects  public  approval  and  legislative  coop- 
eration were  necessary.  The  policy  was  to  keep  clear 
of  all  political  alliances  and  promises  and  urge  the 
University's  claims  and  needs  on  their  merits — an  at- 
titude which  in  the  long  run,  we  may  believe,  proved 
wise  as  well  as  right.  As  we  look  back  on  that  period 
of  gradual  winning  of  ground  with  successive  legis- 
lative assemblies,  we  may  regret  the  occasional  mis- 
takes and  failures,  but  never  the  method.  There  were 
times  when  the  limited  success  of  the  unremitting  ef- 
forts to  secure  recognition  by  the  people's  represen- 
tatives of  the  needs  of  their  University  was  disheart- 
ening. It  may  be  fairly  stated  that  one-third  of  the 
time  and  energy  of  the  heads  of  the  four  state  schools 
was  spent  in  a  struggle  to  obtain  what  should  have 
been  freely  offered.  It  was  difficult  to  get  a  hearing 
for  the  idea  that  a  university  is  a  means  of  realizing 
the  highest  ideals  of  democracy.  The  helpful  speech 
of  Ex-President  Hale  to  a  visiting  Legislature  is  well 
remembered.  He  said  in  part:  "I  have  heard  it 
stated  that  you  could  maintain  all  our  students  at  Har- 
vard with  a  saving  to  the  State.  It  may  be  true,  though 
I  do  not  believe  it.  We  could  farm  out  our  legislation 
to  Kansas  and  save  money,  and  perhaps  get  wiser 
laws.  But  we  are  here  for  homes  and  churches  and 
schools  of  our  own,  for  a  State  in  which  we  may  take 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  9! 

pride,  for  wise  legislation,  for  progressive  civiliza- 
tion. You  talk  about  cost;  the  dome  of  the  Capitol 
cost  more  than  the  whole  University  plant — and  we 
ought  to  be  ashamed."  But,  as  with  the  tempest- 
tossed  mariners  of  the  Aeneid,  "perhaps  it  may  be 
pleasant  hereafter  to  recall  even  these  things."  One 
thing  is  certain,  no  one  will  ever  know  the  gratitude 
due  and  felt  for  the  almost  constant  friendly  aid  in 
carrying  out  the'  larger  policies  of  the  University 
given  by  the  faculty,  the  Boulder  citizens,  public- 
spirited  men  elsewhere,  the  press,  and  many  a  legis- 
lator who  thought  largely  and  comprehended  in  his 
view  all  the  State's  interests  and  all  the  means  of 
progress.  At  one  time  of  financial  distress,  Colorado 
citizens  and  certain  banks  in  Denver,  Pueblo,  and 
Boulder  subscribed  to  a  loan  of  some  seventy  thou- 
sand dollars — and  took  their  chances  on  payment  by 
the  State.  The  President  is  credited  with  the  honor 
of  finally  securing  the  law  equalizing  taxation 
throughout  the  State  on  the  basis  of  full  valuation, 
and  the  appointment  of  a  Tax  Commission,  acts 
which  placed  the  State's  finances  on  a  just  and  safe 
foundation.  Certainly  he  was  very  active  in  the  cam- 
paign. A  history  of  our  experience  with  legislatures 
would  illustrate  the  political  problems  of  democracy, 
including  the  evils  of  party  tyranny,  bosses,  lobbies, 
mediocre  representation,  local  selfishness.  But  out 
of  it  all  comes,  upon  the  whole,  much  sane  legisla- 
tion and  progress  toward  justice.  Colorado  in 
1920-21  enacted  many  wise  laws  and  by  popular 


92  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

vote  on  initiated  and  referred  measures  showed  a 
judgment,  breadth,  and  liberality  in  striking  evidence 
of  permanent  progress  in  democratic  government. 
One  can  but  recall  humorous  incidents  in  so  many 
years  of  contact  with  the  General  Assembly.  On  one 
occasion,  in  a  debate,  this  occurred  in  the  way  of 

repartee :    The  member  from  the th  orates  like 

an  explosion  of  Webster's  Dictionary,  he  rattles  on 
like  a  Chinese  New  Year.  In  considering  an  item 
in  a  bill  providing  for  Research  at  the  University, 
one  committee  member  asked  another,  "What  in 

h is  Research?"     UD if  I  know;  move  it 

be  struck  out",  was  the  illuminating  and  sympathetic 
reply. 

The  largest  gift  during  this  administration  was 
that  of  Mr.  'Andrew  J.  Macky,  a  pioneer  of 
Boulder.  In  his  will  he  made  the  University  residu- 
ary legatee  of  his  estate  and  named  the  purpose  of 
the  benefaction — to  erect  a  building  to  be  called 
an  auditorium.  For  two  or  three  years  previous,  the 
President  would  occasionally  hail  Mr.  Macky  cheer- 
fully with  the  insistent  question,  "Well,  Mr.  Macky, 
are  you  ready  to  give  us  a  building  today?"  And, 
with  his  chuckle,  he  would  reply,  "No,  not  today,  not 
today;  I  must  think  it  over."  Finally  he  privately 
gave  assurance  that  he  had  made  provision  for  the 
purpose.  It  was  unfortunate  that  the  completion  of 
the  building  was  long  delayed  by  litigation.  Some 
time  after  Mr.  Macky's  death  an  alleged  written 
agreement,  discovered  in  a  miraculous  and  dramatic 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  93 

way,  was  produced  which  made  a  claim  to  one-third 
of  the  property.  The  document  was  finally  proven 
to  be  a  forgery,  as  the  expert  said  in  court,  "too  crude 
to  be  interesting."  The  Macky  Auditorium  is  unique 
and  impressive.  The  President,  in  his  travels,  noted 
here  and  there  striking  architectural  designs,  shown 
especially  in  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  Florence,  Italy, 
King's  Chapel,  Cambridge,  England,  the  Magdalen 
tower,  Oxford,  one  of  the  later  buildings  at  Prince- 
ton, and  a  church  on  lower  Broadway,  New  York. 
Photographs  were  turned  over  to  the  architects, 
Gove  and  Walsh,  with  the  request  to  harmonize  the 
elements,  if  possible,  and  make  "something  different." 
The  result  seems  to  be  generally  approved.  Two 
other  large  benefactions  must  be  mentioned.  The 
Henry  S.  Denison  Memorial  Building  and  Re- 
search Laboratories  were-'  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Ella 
Strong  Denison.  The  Charles  Inglis  Thomson 
Professorship  of  Law  is  supported  by  a  donation 
made  for  the  purpose  by  Mrs.  Olivia  Thomson. 

The  Regents,  almost  always,  were  directly  be- 
hind the  larger  movements,  all  of  which  they  had 
sanctioned,  and  usually  were  in  accord  with  the  ad- 
ministration. One  may  count  on  the  fingers  of  one 
hand  the  regents  who  in  more  than  two  decades 
were  seriously  at  odds  with  the  Board  as  a  whole 
or  the  execution  of  its  plans.  There  was  always  en- 
tire frankness  in  discussion,  and  there  were  occasional 
uproars,  but  few  that  left  permanent  enmities.  The 
President  was  allowed  equal  freedem  in  debate. 


94  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

especially  since  the  Regents  knew  that  their  final 
decisions  would  always  be  executed  in  good  faith. 
The  period  ended,  as  it  began,  in  all-around  apparent- 
ly good  understanding. 

Faculty 

The  college  faculty  was  a  small  group  of  well- 
equipped  men  who  looked  toward  high  standards. 
And  throughout  later  years  an  unusual  effort  was 
made  to  secure  for  the  growing  departments  the  best 
young  product  of  the  great  universities,  American 
and  foreign,  though  with  the  knowledge  that  some 
of  the  men,  naturally,  would  use  the  University  as 
a  training  school  of  professors  for  wealthier  insti- 
tutions. The  decisions  of  the  faculty  on  questions 
within  their  field  were  always  carried  out,  at  any 
rate  such  was  the  policy;  only  two  or  three  times  did 
the  Regents  make  attempts  to  encroach  on  the  fac- 
ulty's functions — attempts  not  carried  into  effect. 
On  certain  matters  of  general  interest  to  the  faculty,- 
the  right  of  petition  to  the  Regents  and  of  presenta- 
tion through  committees  was  cordially  recognized. 
The  Faculty  Organization  gradually  developed  into 
a  form  comprising  Senate,  Advisory  Council,  and 
Special  Faculties  for  which  the  various  functions  were 
defined  by  rules  approved  by  the  Regents.  The 
faculty  was  turbulent  enough  on  occasions,  there 
were  times  when  misunderstandings  seemed  serious, 
but  on  the  whole  there  was  a  remarkable  record  of 
cooperation  for  the  large  objectives,  and  of  ability 
and  readiness  in  working  out  by  various  committees 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  95 

great  problems  of  educational  policy  and  internal 
organization. 

In  speaking  of  personal  relations,  incorrect  judg- 
ments are  probable.  Every  man  has  his  peculiar 
temperament,  his  moods  determined  by  conditions  of 
health,  and  his  theory  of  the  best  way  to  deal  with 
men  and  affairs.  He  may  have  the  virtues  of  his 
faults  as  well  as  the  faults  of  his  virtues.  A  man  who 
is  often  honored  by  the  terms  "just",  "prudent'*, 
"successful",  and  even  "wise"  may  or  may  not  regret 
that  he  is  seldom  called  "politic"  or  "popular".  He 
may  be  sure,  however,  that  frankness  is  often  the  best 
policy,  and  that  merit  is  the  chief  foundation  for  a 
worth-while  popularity.  In  our  judgments  we  may 
forget  that  reserve  is  often  the  armor  of  diffidence 
and  sensitiveness.  One  may  warmly  prize  in  his 
associates  the  fine  culture,  the  spirit  of  truth,  the 
charm  of  personality,  the  generous  acts,  the  gifts  of 
friendship,  and  fail  in  due  utterance.  He  may  be 
alive  to  the  spirit  and  the  struggles  and  the  hopes  of 
youth,  and  not  be  fully  understood.  Withheld 
tributes  to  the  living  paid  only  after  they  are  gone, 
neglected  recognition  of  service,  unexpressed  sym- 
pathies, forgotten  view-points  of  youth  inevitably 
arise  to  accuse  a  self-contained  nature.  But  we  gladly 
turn  from  sins  of  omission  to  the  more  frequent  times 
when  generous  feeling  and  thought  found  expression 
and  an  entente  cordiale  prevailed. 

The  President  believed  that  in  dealing  with 
students  high  standards  should  constantly  be  placed 


96  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

before  them,  that  in  misunderstandings  appeal  should 
be  made  to  their  sense  of  right  and  justice,  even  if 
that  method  at  the  time  should  be  misinterpreted  as 
weakness,  and  that  force  should  be  the  last  resort. 
Responsibility  for  class  outbreaks  and  for  injury  to 
property  was  placed  on  the  disturbing  group  of 
students  with  the  question:  Are  these  the  facts;  if 
so,  what  should  be  done?  Seldom  did  a  question  so 
put  fail  to  receive  a  just  and  generous  answer.  When 
the  time  arrived,  the  students  were  given  certain 
powers  of  self-government  and  regulated  control  of 
certain  student  affairs.  The  Bible  was  usually  read 
at  the  beginning  of  Chapel  exercises,  or  a  selection 
from  other  inspiring  writings.  This  was  done  in  the 
belief  that  this  generation  needs  supremely  the 
breadth  and  depth  of  thought  and  feeling  which  the 
great  literature  of  the  world  might  awaken.  One 
taxpayer  raised  objection  to  the  use  of  the  Bible, 
and  refused  to  be  appeased  by  any  explanations.  The 
matter  was  duly  presented  to  the  Regents,  but 
ignored  by  them.  Brief  addresses  were  made  by  the 
President,  the  Faculty,  or  speakers  selected  from 
Denver  and  elsewhere.  One  year  about  fifty  preach- 
ers were  invited.  Many  of  them  made  sympathetic 
appeals  to  the  students,  though  in  private  talk  we 
sometimes  encountered  strict  views  regarding  a  per- 
sonal devil,  a  material  hell,  and  predestination.  One 
speaker  before  the  Christian  Associations  in  Com- 
mencement week,  a  representative  of  a  very  orthodox 
denomination,  took  for  his  subject  "Solomon".  He 


£.T    THE    UNIVERSITY.  97 

said  that  when  Solomon  was  young  and  pious  he 
wrote  the  Song  which  was  truly  poetic  and  full  of 
faith;  that  in  his  middle  age  when  he  was  still  a  good 
man  he  wrote  Proverbs  which  contained  great  wis- 
dom ;  but  that  when  he  had  grown  old  and  rich  and 
wicked  and  arrogant  he  wrote  Ecclesiastes  which  was 
full  of  materialism  and  pessimism  and  was  a  lie  from 
beginning  to  end.  After  the  exercises  the  President 
said,  "Look  here,  brother,  being  a  state  university 
we  have  to  be  mighty  careful.  What  do  you  mean 
by  saying  a  book  in  the  Bible  is  a  lie?"  He  replied, 
"Why,  the  Bible  is  a  great  encyclopedia  of  religious 
thought,  isn't  it?" 

Of  course  a  small  volume  of  enlivening  humor 
might  be  written,  but  that  is  for  other  hands.  We 
recall  the  great  student  rebellion  at  the  suspension  of 
"hazers",  and  the  faculty's  Fabian  policy  that  re- 
sulted in  a  voluntary  and  joyous  return — an  affair 
that  was  the  source  of  many  humorous  traditions. 
Holding  that  the  University  was  for  those  who  de- 
sired its  privileges,  the  faculty  calmly  attended  to 
their  duties  and  left  the  "strikers"  to  their  self-exile 
and  oratory.  A  joke  and  a  truth  were  uttered  by  a 
professor  at  a  banquet  when  he  said  that  the  Presi- 
dent was  graduated  at  Bates  College,  but  was  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Colorado. 

Views  of  University  Meaning*  and  Method* 

The  faculty  in  1892  was  evenly  divided  in  sym- 
pathy for  classics  and  sciences,  and  the  first  problem 


98  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

encountered  was  to  bring  about  an  armed  truce  be 
tween  the  factions  on  the  ground  of  equal  rights 
The  successive  changes  in  the  curriculum  cor 
responded  somewhat  with  the  progressive  move 
ments  elsewhere — two  or  three  fixed  courses,  eacl 
with  its  characteristic  degree,  the  A.B.  standing  fo 
the  classical ;  basic  studies  common  to  all  courses,  an< 
required  and  elective  subjects  for  each  course;  on 
course  and  one  degree,  with  required  and  electiv 
studies;  a  common  foundation  and  elective  groups 
organization  of  certain  groups  into  a  College  o 
Education  and  a  College  of  Commerce.  The  discus 
sions  on  these  changes  often  had  a  dramatic  interest 
Once  a  deadlock  lasted  for  days  with  repeated  re 
consideration  of  questions  whenever  a  member  wa 
temporarily  absent.  At  another  time  the  situatioi 
was  saved  by  a  literal  passing  of  the  peace  pipe — th 
only  time  when  smoking  was  allowed  in  facult 
meetings. 

The  President's  function  as  a  professor  in  th 
lines  of  Philosophy,  Psychology,  and  Ethics  wa 
seriously  limited  by  the  demands  of  administratioi 
and  plans  of  development,  and  was  dropped  whei 
the  teaching  force  was  sufficiently  increased.  Bu 
he  found  time  to  weigh  many  things  regarding  uni 
versity  meanings  and  methods.  He  deprecated  th 
abuse  of  the  lecture  system  in  college  instruction 
thinking  it  should  be  limited  to  interpreting  am 
adding  to  the  subject  and  should  not  be  used  fo 
dictation  of  facts  in  detail.  He  objected  to  ovei 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  99 

crowded  courses,  waste  on  relatively  useless  matter, 
and  unlimited  election  during  the  transition  period 
from  fixed  courses  to  the  group-system.  He  believed 
it  was  not  imperative  that  a  graduate  teacher  should 
first  be  a  discoverer.  The  university  should  be  more 
closely  related  to  the  people,  be  made  in  a  sense 
the  instrument  of  democracy.  He  thought  time 
should  be  saved  somewhere  along  the  line  of  general 
education,  college  graduation  should  be  reached  two 
years  earlier,  the  university  in  all  its  departments 
should  be  built  on  the  readjusted  college,  the  gradu- 
ate school  and  the  senior  college  should  be  merged 
into  a  department  of  arts  and  sciences,  with  broad 
scope  and  improved  methods.  This  change  would 
make  of  the  conglomeration  now  so-called,  a  genuine 
university  adapted  to  American  needs.  It  would  offer 
at  the  right  age  the  advantage  of  methods  that  give 
power  and  invite  originality.  Moreover,  he  thought 
the  American  university  should  be  standardized  at 
once,  but  with  a  forward  look  toward  the  ideal  to 
be  attained;  in  other  words  a  stage  of  evolution 
should  be  recorded,  but  the  forward  movement 
should  be  unhampered.  He  advocated  the  establish- 
ing of  a  National  University  to  center  many  of  the 
government's  departments,  bureaus,  and  commis- 
sions, to  lead  in  American  research,  to  leaven  the  too 
political  character  of  Congress  with  an  ideal  interest. 
It  should  cover  the  whole  field  from  agriculture  to 
the  public  morale  and  promote  material  progress  and 
constructive  Americanism. 


100  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

The  President  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
the  N.E.A.  movement  that  resulted  in  the  report 
on  "Secondary  School  Studies",  and  was  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  "Economy  of  Time  in  Educa- 
tion". He  was  later  in  the  councils  of  those  who 
framed  a  "Definition  of  the  American  University", 
and  was  a  leader  in  advocating  a  University  of  the 
United  States.  On  occasion  of  an  adverse  commit- 
tee report,  to  the  Council  of  Education,  on  a  National 
University,  he  represented  in  the  discussion  a  group 
of  university  presidents  who  suspected  that  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  report  were  due  to  a  "preestab- 
lished  harmony"  instead  of  a  judicial  investigation. 
The  discussion,  it  must  be  confessed,  contained  satire 
as  well  as  reasons,  and  called  forth  considerable 
public  comment;  but  he  has  never  had  the  grace  to 
repent.  The  report  was  not  adopted.  All  the  above 
views  were  included  in  the  book  on  American  Uni- 
versity Progress  and  College  Reform  Relative  to 
School  and  Society.  Here  is  an  extract  from  the 
President's  addresses  on  the  subject  of  a  National 
University : 

At  the  National  Capital  are  scores  of  depart- 
ments and  bureaus  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment, which  might  contribute  to  various  lines 
of  research.  Vast  sums  are  invested  in  libra- 
ries, museums,  and  laboratories.  A  large  body 
of  scientific  men  are  employed  in  what  may  be 
called  the  educational  service  of  the  depart- 
ments. It  is  proposed  to  establish  by  act  of 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  IOI 

Congress  a  university  of  the  United  States;  give 
it  a  board  of  trustees  guarded  from  political 
bias  and  influence;  include  the  scientific  agencies, 
mentioned,  in  the  University  scheme;  invite  the 
cooperation  of  various  organizations  privately 
endowed;  choose  a  faculty  of  eminent  men,  in- 
cluding those  now  prominent  in  the  scientific 
work  of  the  government,  whose  duty,  in  con- 
junction with  the  trustees,  would  be  to  utilize 
present  resources  and  plan  lines  of  future  de- 
velopment. Of  course  the  proposed  plan 
would  necessitate  adequate  buildings  inde- 
pendent of  the  various  departments  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  large  financial  support.  The 
functions  of  such  an  institution  in  many  fields 
of  applied  science  are  obvious.  But  its  scope 
would  rapidly  enlarge.  To  some  extent  facili- 
ties are  now  found  in  the  departments  for 
special  investigation  in  the  natural  sciences, 
agriculture,  engineering,  and  medicine;  in  his- 
tory, political  science,  economics,  and  law;  in 
anthropology  and  education ;  in  literature.  In  a 
university  organization  these  would  be  strength- 
ened and  supplemented.  A  National  Univer- 
sity should  represent  profound  scientific  knowl- 
edge, its  application  to  the  practical  needs  of 
the  country,  the  study  of  all  economic,  political, 
and  social  problems,  every  phase  of  human  bet- 
terment, in  short  all  that  pertains  to  the  welfare 
of  a  people.  Moreover,  it  should  aim  to  en- 


102  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

large  the  boundaries  of  knowledge,  to  teach  an 
idealistic  philosophy,  and  to  emphasize  the 
spiritual  side  of  our  civilization.  And  all  this 
should  be  done  to  an  extent  and  with  a  thorough- 
ness possible  only  in  such  an  institution.  In 
other  words,  there  should  be  at  the  center  of 
government,  as  the  highest  interest,  complete 
opportunity  for  studying  the  vital  problems  of 
the  nation. 

Here  may  be  inserted  an  appreciation  of  the 
great  privilege  of  meeting  men  of  prominence,  either 
at  the  University,  or  at  educational  conferences,  or 
on  the  many  trips  to  various  parts  of  the  country  to 
recruit  the  teaching  force.  President  Angell  and 
President  Eliot  were  among  the  first  guests  welcomed 
at  the  University,  1892  or  1893.  Both  addressed 
the  students.  President  Angell,  in  an  evening  of 
confidential  talk,  asked,  "Do  you  lie  awake  nights 
and  worry?  If  you  do,  quit  it;  it  doesn't  pay.  I 
worried  the  first  two  years  and  then  stopped. 
Especially  don't  be  disturbed  at  the  growth  of  other 
institutions;  the  prosperity  of  one  helps  the  others. 
Michigan  has  forged  ahead  rapidly,  though  sur- 
rounded in  neighboring  states  by  newly  established 
universities."  Other  guests  at  different  times  were 
Schurman,  Patton,  Wheeler,  Butler.  It  was  a  good 
fortune  to  be  a  coworker  in  educational  movements 
with  Eliot,  James,  Angell,  MacLean,  Thompson, 
Jesse  and  many  others.  There  was  at  least  a  passing 
acquaintance  with  men  like  Lowe,  Northrup,  Wilson, 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  103 

Harper,  Canfield,  Judson,  Dwight.  Of  course  it  was 
worth  something  to  merely  meet  men  outside  of  the 
educational  field  like  President  Roosevelt  and  Am- 
bassador Bryce.  It  was  an  honor  to  be  invited  to  speak 
on  different  occasions  at  the  universities  of  California, 
Wyoming,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Washington, 
Oregon,  Idaho,  Iowa. 

These  university  presidents,  nearly  all  in  active 
service  at  the  first  decade  of  this  century,  were  great 
builders  and  leaders.  They  strengthened  the  univer- 
sity foundations  and  engaged  in  rapid  upbuilding. 
They  were  solvers  of  problems.  Through  the 
Association  of  American  Universities  and  the  Assoc- 
iation of  State  Universities  they  cooperated  in  con- 
structive work.  The  first  body  developed  the  Gradu- 
ate School;  the  second  defined  the  American  univer- 
sity and  attempted  to  secure  classification  relative 
to  certain  standards.  During  the  period  the  require- 
ments for  admission  were  raised  and  at  the  same  time 
liberalized,  and  the  professional  schools  were  put  on 
a  better  basis.  In  the  Association  of  State  Univer- 
sities the  writer  worked  for  the  investigation  of 
fundamental  problems,  as  well  as  of  ways  and  means, 
raising  the  standard  of  the  universities,  establishing 
a  national  university,  reorganizing  American  educa- 
tion, and  basing  a  genuine  university,  in  all  its  de- 
partments, on  two  years  of  college,  or,  in  the  new 
plan,  on  the  complete  college  course.  He  asked  the 
aid  of  the  sister  association  in  investigating  this 
question  of  reorganization.  He  also  urged,  indirect- 


104  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

ly,  that  the  Association  of  American  Universities 
maintain  the  open  door  to  all  universities  of  proper 
rank,  and  cease  to  be  a  self-appointed,  exclusive 
aristocracy. 

Public  Questions 

A  party  name  never  was  held  sacred.  The  atti- 
tude of  the  ''mugwump"  seemed  to  me  the  honest 
one — that  of  the  independent  who  in  a  given  cam- 
paign chooses  and  works  for  the  best  cause.  Popu- 
lism was  to  me  a  welcome  movement,  not  that  I 
joined  it  or  consorted  with  populists,  but  because  it 
was  a  revolt,  partly  blind,  against  many  political  and 
social  wrongs,  and  was  bound  ultimately  to  reform 
the  old-line  parties.  The  movement  induced  more 
serious  thought  on  industrial  problems  and  social  in- 
justice, and  especially  regarding  the  selfishness  and 
indifference  of  the  more  comfortable  classes.  From 
that  time  conservative-liberal  may  fairly  describe  my 
attitude.  It  has  taken  me  many  years  to  reach  clear 
views  of  the  great  political  and  social  questions.  But 
now  "cooperation  under  justice"  is  seen  to  be  the  only 
effective  cure  for  the  wrongs  between  classes  and  be- 
tween nations — a  remedy  to  be  applied  with  experi- 
mental caution  and  cumulative  effects. 

When  "muckraking"  became  a  pastime  as  well 
as  the  expression  of  a  desire  for  betterment,  it 
seemed  at  first  one  of  those  recurrent,  spasmodic 
efforts  at  reform  which  speedily  die  out.  But  here 
was  the  beginning  of  a  progress  that  is  still  moving 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  105 

toward  the  goal  of  real  democracy.  Theodore 
Roosevelt  did  more  than  any  other  American  to 
create  a  healthy  political  atmosphere.  He  was  the 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness  of  corrupt 
parties  and  capitalistic  greed  the  gospel  of  justice. 
He  saw  that  politics  should  not  be  divorced  from 
ethics;  he  was  not  afraid  to  repeat  old  truths.  He 
never  seemed  more  remarkable  than,  when,  in  the 
closing  days  of  his  presidency,  he  issued  almost  daily 
challenges  to  the  recalcitrant  Congress.  His  faults 
never  gave  me  great  concern.  As  Carlyle  judged 
Burns:  Eccentricities  are  to  be  measured,  not  abso- 
lutely, but  in  relation  to  the  magnitude  of  the  orbits. 
Education  and  Citizenship  was  a  constant  theme, 
and  the  ideals  for  democracy  in  contrast  with  many 
present  evils  were  often  set  forth.  An  extract  from 
one  of  my  addresses  is  in  point: 

We  sometimes  dream  of  an  ideal  land  where 
there  are  no  political  bosses,  no  corrupt  legis- 
lators, no  public  officials  controlled  by  unjust 
influences,  no  municipal  robbery,  no  graft — a 
land  where  there  is  no  dominant  power  of  any 
selfish  interest,  no  bribery  of  courts  or  officials 
or  voters,  no  stealing  of  franchises  or  of  public 
lands,  no  railroad  discrimination,  no  adultera- 
ted or  poisoned  foods,  no  fake  medicines,  no 
preventable  railroad  accidents — a  land  where 
there  is  no  neglect  of  official  duty,  no  contempt 
for  the  laws,  no  delay  of  justice,  no  dishon- 
orable party  policy,  no  political  madness,  no 


106  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

unnecessary  burdens  for  public  service — a  land 
where  the  government  is  conducted  for  the 
people's  benefit,  where  "the  poor  are  not  very 
poor  and  the  rich  are  not  very  rich",  and  all 
riches  are  honestly  gained,  where  schools  rep- 
resenting all  the  ideals  of  the  people  abound  and 
poor  private  schools  do  not  exist  because  all 
schools  are  publicly  supervised,  where  great 
men  are  great  because  of  their  attainments  in 
science,  literature,  and  art,  where  democracy 
keeps  faith  with  its  ideals.  Is  this  a  picture  of 
an  unattainable  Utopia?  Students  of  political 
science  tell  us  that  such  a  country  exists  today, 
and  /  have  sketched  the  picture  from  what  they 
present.  In  all  the  political  vicissitudes  of 
Europe  never  permanently  conquered,  by  com- 
mon consent  set  apart  as  a  neutral  territory  for 
freedom  and  refuge,  guarded  by  its  Alpine 
heights  emblematic  of  the  spirit  of  its  people, 
Switzerland  has  realized  all  these  ideals. 

A  Kind  of  Philosophy 

Everyone  has  a  philosophy  which  he  preaches,  and 
attempts  in  ways  and  within  limits  to  practice.  It 
was  the  President's  lot  to  give  the  annual  bacca- 
laureate addresses  and  these  with  various  educational 
papers  were  published  at  different  times  in  three  vol- 
umes :  Education  and  Life,  American  Problems,  and 
Educational  Aims  and  Civic  Needs.  From  the  nature 
of  the  occasions,  the  annual  addresses  were  often 
limited  to  some  phase  of  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  107 

the  good  with  the  purpose  of  emphasizing  old  truth 
with  whatever  attractiveness  and  originality  of  form 
might  be  possible.  Attitudes  toward  life  are  prima- 
rily essential.  If  the  youth  gets  but  a  glimpse  of 
romance  in  the  day's  work,  the  beauty  of  righteous- 
ness, the  golden  mean  which  avoids  whatever  is 
harmful  to  body  or  mind  or  soul,  the  three  great 
Bible  teachings  of  righteousness  and  justice  and  good- 
will, the  practical  Christian  philosophy  of  coopera- 
tion under  justice,  he  may  finally  reach  a  full  vision 
of  the  virtues  that  must  ever  be  the  goal  of  aspiring 
humanity.  Especially  important  is  the  poetry  in 
work,  work  viewed  as  so  much  toward  the  realization 
of  the  "universal  purpose",  work  even  of  the 
humblest  which,  if  the  motive  be  right,  is  rewarded 
in  the  realm  of  spirit.  It  is  possible  for  the  average 
educated  youth  to  attain  at  least  the  foothills  of 
philosophic  thought,  and  an  amount  of  idealism  may 
be  imparted  to  a  matter-of-fact  high-school  boy,  as 
experimentally  proved  in  sundry  instances.  In  the 
annual  addresses,  the  utterances  were  sometimes  per- 
fervid,  but  at  the  time  were  certainly  felt  by  the 
speaker. 

The  self  conquered,  the  strait  path  pursued,  the 
deeds  of  duty  accomplished,  the  songs  of  in- 
spiration sung,  the  tears  of  compassion  shed — 
these  arise,  not  as  reproachful  memories,  but 
become  a  benediction  and  a  reward.  The 
mechanical,  commonplace,  do-as-the-others,  un- 
imaginative, selfish  life  is  the  bane  of  self  and 


IO8  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

society.  The  vision  of  youth  is  true,  if  the 
central  figure  is  some  crusader  with  uplifted 
sword  and  the  cry,  "God  wills  it".  The  pas- 
sionate soul  that  divines  duties  and  goes  straight 
to  the  goal  is  of  God's  elect.  Such  a  soul  sees 
everywhere  the  miracle  of  the  burning  bush, 
sees  nature  aflame  with  a  mysterious  fire  that 
does  not  consume,  communes  with  God  in  the 
heights,  and  through  faith  marches  triumphant 
to  the  promised  land. 

The  form  of  truth  is  an  empty,  useless  ab- 
straction, unless  it  is  given  a  content,  unless  it 
adjusts  wrongs,  removes  evils,  improves  mate- 
rial conditions,  and  strengthens  growth  among 
all  classes  of  people  today. 

The  scholar  is  expected  to  represent  honest 
thinking  and  right  conduct  in  public  affairs.  He 
is  expected  to  teach  the  principles  underlying 
current  questions,  to  cultivate  state  pride  and 
enthusiasm  for  worthy  causes,  and  proclaim  a 
philosophy  of  hope  and  courage.  He  must 
prove  that  with  mastery  of  nature  may  go  ex- 
altation of  spirit,  that  ideality  can  harmonize 
with  utility. 

In  the  earlier  days,  when  in  the  Denver  High 
School,  a  summer  vacation  led  me  to  the  Concord 
School  of  Philosophy.  William  T.  Harris  was  one 
of  the  lecturers.  Feeling  the  stirring  of  the  philo- 
sophic impulse,  his  advice  was  sought.  He  said,  Be- 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  1 09 

gin  with  Kant's  Critique,  spend  three  months  en  the 
first  page,  read  it  until  the  vision  comes — all  the  rest 
will  follow.  The  visit  was  also  rewarded  by  seeing 
for  the  first  time  Bronson  Alcott  and  Emerson.  The 
soul  of  culture  shining  in  Emerson's  face  is  still  a 
vivid  memory.  At  one  time  Kant  and  Hegel  seemed  to 
offer  a  complete  revelation  and  a  few  of  us  con- 
genial spirits  formed  a  "Kant  Club"  and  went 
through  the  Critique  of  Pure  Reason  and  Hegel's 
Logic  in  search  of  final  truth.  When  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  Logic  was  only  a  peculiar  record  of 
world  development,  instead  of  proof  that  the  form 
of  development  was  a  necessity  in  the  nature  of 
things,  at  least  one  member  abandoned  the  hope  of 
reaching  ultimates  by  any  system  of  speculative  philos- 
ophy. I  frankly  admit  being  one  of  those  simple- 
minded  thinkers  to  whom  Plato  always  appealed,  and 
I  at  one  time  made  an  eager  study  of  Plato's  in- 
fluence down  through  the  ages  to  the  philosophy  of 
Hegel  and  even  the  evolution  of  Spencer.  A  quota- 
tion from  an  address  may  be  in  place.  It  is 
an  accurate  description  in  detail  of  my  actual  ex- 
perience, not  an  attempt  at  rhetoric.  There  is  added 
a  view  of  evolution. 

I  sat  on  the  veranda  at  my  home  at  the  close  of 
a  beautiful  day.  The  western  glow  was  fading 
into  a  faint  rose  color.  The  pine  trees  on  the 
neighboring  mountain  top  stood  out  in  mag- 
nified distinctness  against  the  bright  back- 
ground. A  bird  in  a  near  tree  sang  its  good- 


1 10  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

night  song.  Just  over  the  mountain  peak  a  star 
shone  out  like  a  diamond  set  in  pale  gold.  The 
great  earth  silently  turned  and  hid  the  star  be- 
hind the  pines.  The  rugged  outline  of  moun- 
tains loomed  up  with  weird  effect.  The  breeze 
freshened  and  waved  the  branches  in  wider 
curves;  it  seemed  to  come  down  from  the 
heights  as  if  with  a  message.  It  was  a  time  for 
meditation.  My  thoughts  turned  for  a 
hundredth  time  to  the  significance  of  the  higher 
emotional  effects  in  the  presence  of  natural 
beauty  and  sublimity,  and  in  the  contemplation 
of  exalted  aesthetic  and  ethical  conceptions. 
When  the  hand  of  nature  touches  the  chords  of 
the  human  heart,  may  we  not  believe  that  the 
hand  and  the  harp  are  of  divine  origin  and  that 
the  music  produced  is  heavenly?  I  mean  that 
the  human  soul  with  all  its  refinement  of  emotion 
is  not  material,  but  spiritual  and  Godlike;  that 
it  has  written  upon  it  a  sacred  message,  an  as- 
surance not  of  earth  that  its  destiny  is  bound- 
less in  time  and  possibility — a  message  pro- 
found in  its  meaning  as  the  unsearchable  depth 
of  God's  being. 

Evolution  is  according  to  nature's  laws.  Man 
is  a  product  of  evolution.  Man  possesses 
poetry  and  sentiment,  conceives  the  beauty  of 
holiness,  and  has  speculative  reason.  None  of 
these  can  properly  be  explained  by  merely 
materialistic  evolution;  they  are  not  necessary 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  Ill 

to  preservation  of  life.  We  have  tried  to  wholly 
account  for  the  ideals,  emotions,  and  aspira- 
tions of  human  nature  by  analyzing  them  into 
primitive  sensations  and  instincts.  This  is  the 
fatal  error  of  materialistic  philosophy.  The 
process  of  evolution  is  not  analysis;  it  is  syn- 
thesis, development,  the  appearance  of  new 
factors — a  gradual  revelation.  It  is  our  business 
to  analyze,  but,  also,  to  try  to  understand  the 
higher  complex,  the  perfected  product.  The 
first  stand  of  spiritual  philosophy  is  faith  in  the 
validity  of  our  own  evolved  being,  and  to  this 
we  have  as  much  right  as  to  faith  in  the  re- 
liability of  our  five  senses. 

Orthodoxy,  as  such,  never  gave  me  much  con- 
cern, although  an  experience  in  youth  of  so-called 
"conversion"  was  never  explained  on  other  than 
supra-natural  grounds.  The  experience  had  perma- 
nent effects  in  a  more  cheerful  philosophy  and  a 
clearer  trust  in  the  order  of  things.  There  has  always 
remained  what  may  be  called  a  rational  faith — that 
the  First  Cause  must  have  been  adequate  to  all  that 
has  been  evolved,  including  human  reason;  that  this 
is  a  rational  world  since  science  is  possible;  that  a 
purpose  is  found  in  history;  that  a  being  who  dis- 
covers duty  and  aspires  and  conceives  perfection  has 
a  spiritual  nature;  that  the  world  plan,  by  a  common- 
sense  logic,  must  be  a  success — an  implication  of  im- 
mortality. As  has  appeared,  I  have  a  decided  lean- 
ing toward  a  new  idealism,  which  includes  a  spiritual 


112  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

realm  of  absolute  values,  but  an  idealism  which  never 
voyages  out  of  sight  of  land — the  implications  of 
man's  nature.  Out  of  it  all  comes  a  wonderful  prac- 
tical result — power  to  discover  romance  and  infinite 
relationships  in  the  commonplace  and  thus  to  add 
abundant  interest  and  joy  to  life.  We  may  add  the 
power  to  see  the  far  goal  and  push  steadily  toward 
it;  to  see  the  parts  of  life  in  relation  to  the  whole. 

Practical  applications  of  ideal  values  are  set  forth 
in  the  following  extract  in  which  my  r6le  of  disciple 
is  apparent: 

If  there  were  a  clear  view  of  the  world  of  spirit- 
ual values,  all  that  we  describe  as  empty,  feeble, 
shallow,  trivial,  without  meaning  or  purpose, 
would  lose  much  of  its  charm ;  all  that  is  vile  or 
unjust  or  false  or  that  creates  ugliness  where 
beauty  might  be,  would  appear  abhorrent;  all 
that  is  destructive  of  any  human  good,  or  is  ob- 
structive of  real  progress,  would  be  felt  as  a 
crime.  The  emptiness  of  mind,  the  poverty  of 
heart,  the  separation  from  the  true  social  order 
and  the  constructive  forces  of  the  world,  the 
estrangement  from  the  purposes  of  the  Uni- 
versal Will,  of  a  negative  life  or  a  life  of  mere 
pleasure,  would  be  revealed,  and  the  sense  of 
barrenness  and  isolation  would  fill  the  soul  with 
despair.  On  the  other  hand,  all  industry,  all 
that  helps  society  and  state,  all  that  makes  for 
beauty,  truth,  justice,  morality,  religion,  al) 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  113 

leadership  that  sustains  present  values  or  creates 
new  ones,  would  bring  a  feeling  of  being  "at 
home"  in  the  world,  of  human  fellowship,  of 
uat  oneness"  with  the  purpose  of  the  universe. 
Idealism  may  thus  be  the  source  of  a  great  life 
motive,  of  inspiration.  By  it  the  fragments  of 
life  may  be  united  into  a  whole.  By  it  we  may 
get  an  ever  increasing  wealth  of  mind  and  heart 
and  will.  By  it  we  may  gain  more  than  riches 
— a  view  that  gives  a  meaning  to  labor  and  a 
purpose  to  life.*  *  *  *  *  A  conviction 
of  the  practical  value  of  idealism  would  bring 
about  many  beneficent  results.  The  Puritan 
mind,  barren  of  beauty,  would  turn  to  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  home  and  the  joy  of  life,  selfish  and 
unimaginative  business  would  create  and  embel- 
lish civic  centers  for  their  recreative  and  elevat- 
ing influence  amidst  sordid  interests.  Instead 
of  vulgar  and  degrading  plays  catering  to 
morbidness  and  coarseness,  the  stage  would  pre- 
sent only  clean  dramas  representing  healthful 
humor,  literature  of  merit,  and  sound  morals. 
The  press  would  assume  the  responsibility  for 
its  influence,  and  attain  the  dignity  of  worthy 
leadership.  Instead  of  the  vulgar  taste,  the 
arrogance,  and  the  unworthy  example  some- 
times shown  by  wealth,  which  create  disgust  and 
hatred,  we  should  have  simplicity,  responsibility, 
and  service.  Moreover,  by  the  side  of  absolute 
values,  the  annoyances,  petty  struggles,  burdens 


1 14  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

and  disasters  of  life  would  appear  trivial.  Men 
would  boldly  conquer  their  insurgent  impulses, 
would  meet  their  duties  with  courage,  and,  once 
having  had  the  vision,  would  face  permanently 
toward  the  things  of  highest  worth. 

Travel 

Three  European  trips,  1894  and  1902  and  1905, 
had  for  me  some  educational  elements,  beyond  the 
usual  sight-seeing.  The  countries  included  were 
Scotland,  England,  France,  Belgium,  Holland, 
Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Italy.  On  one  trip  over, 
there  was  a  group  of  rather  distinguished  men  aboard 
who  sat  up  late  o'nights,  smoked,  drank  Munich  beer 
and  talked  philosophy.  Among  them  was  Reverend 
Dr.  Gunsaulus,  who  later,  in  Antwerp,  showed  us 
the  underground  cell  where  an  ancestor,  Gonzales, 
was  imprisoned  for  heresy,  and  was  drowned  by 
gradually  filling  the  cell  by  a  pipe  from  the  Scheldt 
— the  priests  standing  by  and  calling  upon  him  to 
recant.  Almost  the  first  pilgrimage  was  to  Ayr. 
The  place  seemed  instinct  with  all  the  poetry  which 
has  so  touched  human  feeling. 

A  few  years  ago  I  went  to  Ayr,  the  birthplace 
of  Burns.  I  visited  the  poet's  cottage,  walked 
by  the  Alloway  Kirk  where  Tarn  o'Shanter  be- 
held the  witch  dance,  crossed  the  Auld  Brig  and 
wandered  by  the  banks  and  braes  o'  bonny  Doon 
— and  it  is  a  beautiful  stream.  I  found  myself 
repeating  lines  from  "Tarn  o'  Shanter,"  "Bonny 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  115 

Doon,"  "Scots  Wha  Hae  wi'Wallace  Bled," 
and  from  some  of  the  sweeter  and  nobler  songs 
of  Burns.  And  I  thought  of  the  mission  of  the 
poet.  The  scenery  in  and  about  Ayr  is  beautiful, 
but  there  is  many  another  region  equally 
attractive.  The  people  with  whom  Burns  dwelt, 
his  neighbors  and  friends,  were  commonplace 
men  and  women,  knowing  the  hardships,  the 
drudgery,  the  pettiness  of  life.  And  yet  he  so 
sang  of  these  scenes  and  these  people,  so  touched 
every  chord  of  the  human  heart,  that  annually 
thirty  thousand  travelers  visit  Ayr  to  pay  their 
homage  at  the  poet's  shrine. 

Stratford  had  an  interest  next  to  Ayr.  Incidents, 
not  worth  relating,  will  persist  in  memory.  Having  a 
limited  time  to  visit  the  Anne  Hathaway  Cottage,  a 
small  boy  was  taken  as  guide.  He  ventured  the  re- 
mark, "There  be  more  American  ladies  as  gentlemen 
comes  here  this  summer".  Asked  why  he  took  his 
client  for  an  American,  after  a  curious  survey,  he 
said,  "Their  feet  be  bigger,  sor".  Questioned  as  to 
what  he  knew  about  Shakespeare,  he  answered,  "He 
stole  deer,  sor;  and  he  went  a  courtin".  A  desire  to 
meet  the  King  was  natural,  and  it  came  about  as  with 
Mark  Twain.  The  King  was  passing  on  a  street  in 
London,  in  a  ceremonial  procession — "I  saw  him 
and  knew  him;  but  he  didn't  see  me".  But,  a  direct 
bow  from  the  Queen!  Easily  enough — she  was 
driving  in  Hyde  Park,  saw  a  tall  man  in  the  front  line 
of  spectators  who  courteously  raised  his  "top  hat", 


1 1 6  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

and  took  him  for  "somebody".  The  scenery,  near 
Paris,  that  furnished  the  elements  of  so  many  of 
Corot's  paintings,  was  searched  out  with  an  enthusi- 
asm worthy  of  a  great  cause.  A  walk  from  Sorrento 
to  Castellamare  surpassed  in  enjoyment  all  other  ex- 
cursions in  and  about  Naples.  The  sweep  of  the 
Piano  di  Sorrento,  the  glimpses  from  the  road  wind- 
ing along  the  bay,  the  exhilaration  of  the  vigorous 
tramp  created  in  me  a  feeling  only  feebly  expressed 
by  the  reiterated,  "Lord,  how  beautiful  it  is,  how 
beautiful  it  is!"  Venice  was  reached  when  the 
people  were  freshly  mourning  the  fallen  Campanile. 
When  departing  from  the  city,  it  seemed  like  view- 
ing for  the  last  time  the  beauty  of  earth  and  bidding 
farewell  to  the  romance  of  history — the  city  raised 
from  the  sea  as  if  by  magic,  becoming  the  glory  of 
the  Mediterranean,  later  enslaved  and  again  free,  but 
in  its  decadence  yet  unique  and  wonderful  and  still 
rich  in  treasures  of  art.  Rome  was  visited  too  late; 
"the  glory  that  was  Rome",  vivid  in  the  imagination 
of  more  youthful  days,  was  somewhat  dimmed  at 
middle  age.  But  the  Seven  Hills,  the  Colosseum,  the 
Appian  Way,  St.  Peters,  the  scene  of  Rienzi's  last 
appeal  to  degenerate  Rome  in  the  name  of  its  ancient 
splendor,  nevertheless,  were  viewed  in  their  historic 
setting.  The  relics  of  the  old  material  civilization, 
from  fishhooks  to  cooking  stoves,  superior  plumbing, 
ingenious  methods  of  heating,  paved  ways,  aqueducts, 
humbled  one's  pride  in  modern  inventions.  To  see 
Mont  Blanc  had  been  the  hope  of  a  lifetime.  Cole- 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  117 

ridge's  "Hymn  Before  Sunrise"  had  made  a  deep 
impress,  not  only  for  its  descriptive  power  but  for 
its  sublime  wonder  and  reverence.  And  the  oppor- 
tunity came.  This  is  quoted  from  a  note  made  after- 
ward. 

Arriving  at  Chamouni  on  a  cloudy  day,  I  first 
climbed  to  Montanvert,  viewed  the  sea  of  ice  set 
like  a  gem  in  the  black  hills  and  just  then 
wreathed  in  mist,  looked  across  the  valley, 
checkered  with  fields  and  gardens,  to  the  pine- 
clad  range  beyond,  and  listened  to  the  distant 
music  of  the  Arve  and  Arveiron,  the  one  find- 
ing its  source  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier  and  join- 
ing the  other  in  its  course  down  the  beautiful 
valley.  The  next  day  I  climbed  above  the  vil- 
lage and  waited  for  the  sun  to  appear.  About 
noon  it  came  forth  in  all  its  glory,  and  just  then 
the  clouds  parted  as  a  curtain  above  Mont 
Blanc,  revealing  the  dazzling  summit  sublime 
in  the  blue  depths.  It  was  the  nearest  glimpse 
of  Heaven  I  ever  expect  to  have  on  Earth,  and 
for  the  moment  I  should  not  have  been  sur- 
prised to  see  angels  ascending  and  descending. 

The  art  galleries  were  studied  certainly  with 
more  sympathy  and  profit  than  by  Mark  Twain  in 
his  tours,  unless  his  first  art  review  was  written  in 
an  utterly  whimsical  mood.  With  but  the  crudest 
knowledge  of  art,  the  expression  of  beauty  or  senti- 
ment in  sculpture  and  painting  by  great  genius  may 


1 1 8  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

be  appreciated  and  become  a  part  of  spiritual  wealth. 
Michaelangelo's  Moses,  the  Raphael  Frescoes,  the 
Last  Supper,  the  Mona  Lisa,  the  Venus  of  Milos,  the 
Winged  Victory  and  hundreds  of  other  famous  works 
were  studied  with  the  mind  of  a  willing  disciple.  The 
Sistine  Madonna,  after  two  hours  of  soulful  contem- 
plation, failed  to  bring  tears  of  aesthetic  joy.  The 
cathedrals  finally  wore  out  patience  and  the  resolve 
never  to  enter  another  for  sight-seeing  was  broken 
only  to  see  the  miracles  of  the  "liquef action' '  at 
Naples.  Westminster  Abbey  with  its  pillars  and 
arches,  its  honored  dead,  its  religious  light  and 
solemn  music,  spite  of  its  grotesque  monuments, 
was  a  startling  revelation  of  the  power  of  genius  to 
transmute  stone,  and  wood  and  bronze  into  ideas  and 
beauty.  The  Royal  Chapel  in  Dresden  is  remem- 
bered for  its  choir.  The  responses  and  anthems 
were  true  in  accord,  clear  and  vibrant  and  penetrat- 
ing, soaring  or  vanishing  with  perfect  art,  in 
harmony  with  the  service,  the  edifice,  the  heart  of  the 
listener,  and  the  divine  sympathy.  Most  impres- 
sive seemed  Thorwaldsen's  Lion  of  Lucerne  in  its 
natural  setting. 

This  always  invites  the  traveler.  Its  art,  its 
associations,  its  sentiment,  its  setting  in  a  spot 
of  natural  beauty  fit  for  contemplation,  awaken 
our  noblest  feeling.  And  it  symbolizes  the  Swiss 
character,  for  it  commemorates  the  famous 
Swiss  Guard,  sold  as  mercenaries  to  a  foreign 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  119 

and  faithless  king,  but  themselves  faithful  in  the 
storm  and  terror  of  revolution,  even  unto  death. 

The  words  of  Carlyle  are  recalled :  "True-born  were 
these  men;  sons  of  the  men  of  Sempach,  of  Murten, 
who  knelt,  but  not  to  thee,  O  Burgundy!  Let  the 
traveler,  as  he  passes  through  Lucerne,  turn  aside 
to  look  a  little  at  their  monumental  Lion,  not  for 
Thorwaldsen's  sake  alone.  Hewn  out  of  the  living 
rock,  the  figure  rests  there,  by  the  still  lake  waters, 
in  lullaby  of  distant-tinkling  ranz-des-vaches,  the 
granite  mountains  dumbly  keeping  watch  all  round; 
and,  though  inanimate,  speaks". 

The  ways  of  the  Old  World  in  officialdom  and  in 
the  schools  could  but  be  noted.  German  reverence 
for  documents  and  seals  was  verified  in  Cologne 
when  a  formal  paper  with  large  red  seal,  from  the 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  quickly  opened  doors 
that  were  closed  to  ordinary  appeal.  The  seal  wa$ 
translated,  if  not  the  document.  In  the  National  Gal- 
lery in  London,  a  search  for  a  certain  art  collection 
chanced  to  lead  through  a  passage  not  generally 
used.  The  proposal  to  retreat  by  the  same  way  was 
refused  by  two  policemen  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
not  customary.  The  statement,  "There  stands  my 
wife  in  the  dim  distance;  we  shall  never  meet  on 
earth  again,  if  I  am  driven  into  devious  ways;  have 
a  heart",  made  no  appeal.  It  had  to  be  done — legal 
attachments,  red-faced  and  expostulating,  dragging 
at  each  arm.  This  was  offset  by  an  instance  of  de- 
licious English  wit:  to  the  conductor  on  a  'bus,  "I 


I2O  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

wish  to  stop  at —  Street,  and  (jocosely)  don't 

you  forget  it".  "Sir,  I  shall  endeavor  to  impart  to 
you  the  pleasing  intelligence".  At  a  Fourth-of-July 
banquet  in  London,  at  which  ambassadors  and  others 
were  guests  of  Americans,  the  announcement  was 
made,  "Your  excellencies,  my  lords,  and  gentlemen, 
the  banquet  is  served" — instead  of  "gentlemen  and 
most  distinguished  guests".  At  the  end  of  the  courses, 
a  venerable  and  distinguished  American  who  sat  as 
my  near  neighbor  lighted  his  cigar,  when  a  waiter 
angrily  blew  out  the  candle,  saying,  uSir,  perhaps 
you  are  not  acquainted  with  the  manner  of  British 
banquets;  it  is  not  customary  to  smowk  until  after 
the  towst  (to  the  King!)."  As  the  champagne  sank 
in  his  bottle,  wrath  rose  in  the  man.  He  sent  for  the 
head  waiter  and  made  a  violent  protest:  "One  of 
your  d — d  flunkys  has  insulted  me;  he  tried  to  teach 
me,  an  American  citizen  at  my  own  Independence 
Day  Banquet,  manners.  Find  him  and  bring  him 
here  and  I'll  give  you  a  pound".  An  attempted  visit, 
not  in  entire  innocence  but  as  an  experiment,  to  one 
of  the  historic  English  public  schools  resulted  in  the 
following  dialogue: 

Q     I  would  like  to  see  the  School. 
A     Impossible,  sir. 
Q     Why? 

A     Because  it  is  in  session. 
Q     Because  it  is  in  session!    I  don't  wish  to  see 
your  empty  desks. 


AT    THE     UNIVERSITY.  121 

A  The  young  gentlemen  would  stare  at  you, 
sir;  they  would  regard  it  an  impertinence. 

Q     Then  they  should  be  thrashed. 

A     It  would  embarrass  the  masters. 

Q     Discharge  them  and  get  self-possessed  men. 

A  Go  to  your  hotel  and  write  the  head-master 
for  an  appointment. 

Q     Thank  you ;  good-bye. 

Oxford,  uthe  home  of  lost  causes  and  forsaken 
beliefs  and  unpopular  names  and  impossible  loyal- 
ties", was  seen  in  a  halo  of  its  past  glory,  and  with 
reverence  for  all  it  had  given  to  England  and  to  civ- 
ilization. The  American  visitor  felt  he  was  an  heir 
by  right  of  ancestry,  and  of  membership  in  the  "re- 
public of  letters".  On  the  first  visit,  in  conversation 
with  an  official  in  the  Examinations  School,  reference 
was  made  to  the  three  years  at  Oxford  for  the  plain 
B.A.,  and  he  was  told  of  a  so-called  University  in 
the  West  among  wild  Indians  and  mountain  lions, 
where  the  course  was  four  years,  with  an  added  year 
for  the  M.A.  and  three  or  four  years  for  the  Ph.D. 
He  said,  "I  regard  that,  sir,  as  a  work  of  super- 
erogation; you  keep  them,  sir,  to  get  their  fees". 
The  reply,  "Sir,  since  it  is  a  State  University,  there 
are  no  fees",  ended  the  matter.  A  few  years  later 
an  opportunity  of  meeting  some  of  the  Oxford  pro- 
fessors, in  a  social  way,  is  remembered  with  keen 
appreciation.  Cambridge,  Berlin,  Leipzig,  Bonn, 


122  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

Strassburg,  Heidelberg,  Paris  gave  opportunities  to 
at  least  meet  and  speak  with  men  like  Thomson 
(Cambridge),  Paulsen,  Wundt,  Qstwald,  and  to 
visit  lectures  by  other  distinguished  professors.  One 
is  impressed  that  in  Germany  mere  sight-seeing  is  not 
welcome  to  the  universities,  but  that  a  real  purpose 
commands  full  courtesy.  This  was  illustrated  at 
Heidelberg,  because  of  a  misunderstanding  of  the 
purpose  of  the  visit,  in  a  manner  that  would  read  well 
described  in  "Karl  Heinrich".  An  official  at  Strass- 
burg, being  asked  how  the  Alsace  "legislature"  treat- 
ed the  University,  said,  "The  members  are  mainly 
lawyers  and  farmers,  they  don't  understand — you 
see".  It  reminded  me  of  home !  A  professor  in  Leip- 
zig, an  American,  but  more  German  that  the  Ger- 
mans, spoke  eloquently,  almost  religiously,  of  the  in- 
timate relation  between  University  and  State.  The 
State  educated  teachers,  lawyers,  and  doctors  for 
use  to  the  State  and  related  them  formally  to  its 
service.  A  noted  scientist,  of  whom  an  inquiry  was 
made  about  the  characteristics  of  a  possible  candidate 
for  the  University  of  Colorado,  put  in  English  the 
comment,  "He  is,  how  shall  I  say,  he  is  of  the  micro- 
scope and  not  of  the  telescope".  At  Paris,  I  was 
struck  with  the  large  plan  which  allied  all  the  higher 
educational  facilities  of  the  city  with  the  University. 
[The  scheme  bade  fair  to  make  of  it  the  greatest 
university  of  the  world,  in  its  manifold  adaptations 
and  opportunities  and  its  freedom.  Complaint  to  a 
professor  that  the  only  book,  having  a  compilation  of 


AT    THE    UNIVERSITY.  123 

all  the  French  school  laws  then  in  force,  was  unob- 
tainable, and  my  assertion  that  they  did  things  better 
in  America  and  distributed  such  publications  to  the 
people,  brought  the  reply:  "I  know;  there  is  a  kind 
of  superficial  smartness  which  we  recognize.  But  we 
are  wedded  to  a  past  which  we  cannot  get  rid  of,  and 
which,  to  be  frank,  we  do  not  wish  to  get  rid  of. 
There  are  many  things  about  our  civilization  which 
it  would  take  an  American  a  long  time  to  under- 
stand." Suppose  we  let  the  "education  from  Euro- 
pean travel'*  rest  at  that. 


VII     VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHIL- 
OSOPHY.—FROM  PREVIOUS  WRITINGS. 

Political 

New  world  spirit.  Before  the  War,  we  only  half 
understood  great  questions,  were  mainly  indifferent 
to  them,  and  held  prophets  without  honor.  The 
conscience  of  the  peoples  was  dormant.  Democracy 
was  "muddling  along"  but  half  aware  of  its  real 
nature  and  mission.  In  four  years  we  have  lived 
centuries.  We  sense  as  never  before  world  problems 
and  spiritual  values.  As  if  from  a  height  of  vision 
we  comprehend  philosophies,  ideals,  institutions,  and 
duties.  The  true  spirit  of  humanity  appears,  freedom 
stands  clearly  defined,  the  soul  is  strengthened  to  meet 
supreme  tests.  That  the  world  has  awaked  and 
looks  with  clear  eyes  on  the  devastated  field  of  civ- 
ilization, and  has  made  a  high  resolve,  in  the  name 
of  eternal  right  and  justice,  to  restore  and  better  and 
guard  it,  is  the  one  great  compensation  for  the  in- 
describable calamity  that  has  befallen  the  race  of 

man. We  have  today  not  a  revival  of  the  past, 

but  a  revelation  in  the  present,  surpassing  the  dream 
of  the  Renaissance.  And  we  may  hope  that  the 
purpose  awakened  will  not  evaporate  in  enthusiasm 
or  die  out  after  the  first  burst  of  energy.  We  face 
the  perilous  vicissitudes  of  the  time,  taught  by 
centuries  of  political  and  social  experiment,  guided  by 
scientific  knowledge,  united  by  common  interests,  with 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      125 

reasoned  plans  and  aims.  We  should  make  our 
dreams  come  true.  (W  5.  W  177.).* 

Democracy.  The  hope  of  the  new  age  is  the  new 
democratic  state,  enlightened  by  recent  history,  in 
which  shall  be  found  a  proper  balance  between  tyran- 
ny and  anarchy.  Democracy  means  more  than  the 
good  of  the  individual,  state.  Its  great  mission  is  to 
safeguard  national  good  faith  and  international 
honor,  and  to  establish  a  new  world  order  under 
justice.  The  form  and  spirit  of  existing  democracies 
will  be  modified.  While  they  must  be  organized  for 
greater  efficiency,  in  ways  they  will  become  more 
democratic.  We  shall  have  less  privilege.  Men  arc 
looking  toward  realities  and  essentials.  The  privilege 
of  undue  wealth,  of  rank,  of  power,  of  formal  cul- 
ture will  be  diminished.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
chasm  is  not  so  broad  and  deep  as  supposed  between 

the   "upper  classes"   and  the   "plain  people". 

Democracy  means  opportunity  and  cooperation  and 
free  development  under  high  ideals.  It  is  neither 
aristocratic,  capitalistic,  nor  anarchistic. Democ- 
racy stands  for  opportunity  for  all  classes,  not  the 
dominance  of  any  one  class.  Class  or  group  selfish- 


*  The  references  are  marked  as  follows: 

E  to  Elementary  Psychology. 

L  to  Education  and  Life. 

P  to  American  Problems. 

N  to  Educational  Aims  and  Civic  Needs. 

R  to  American  University  Progress  and  College  Reform. 

W  to  After  the  War—What? 

[The  long  dash,  throughout,  separates  extracts.] 


126  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

ness    is    either   tyrannous    or    lawless.      The    chief 

democratic  principle  is  cooperation. We  are  at  a 

period  when  justice  for  all  classes,  equal  rights  for 
all,  real  democracy,  are  the  watchwords,  and  no  one 
class,  which  refuses  to  live  on  good  terms  with  the 
others,  can  establish  a  new  tyranny. Efficient  ad- 
ministration is  a  great  lack  in- democracy.  It  should 
be  made  a  matter  of  business  in  the  interest  of  the 

public. A  democratic  government  preserves  the 

individual ;  he  is  not  lost  in  a  kind  of  nirvana  called 
the  State.  If  he  has  genius,  it  naturally  becomes  a 
public  asset.  At  the  call  of  reform  he  volunteers 
his  effort.  In  a  national  crisis  his  loyalty  is  sponta- 
neous, instant,  and  effective.  A  democracy  wants 
efficiency,  but  not  at  the  sacrifice  of  individual  right 
and  initiative.  It  wants  to  organize  and  economize  the 
national  strength,  but  not  at  the  cost  of  representa- 
tive institutions.  It  aims  at  accomplishment  but  not 
under  the  spur  of  the  "military  boot  and  cane".  (W 
34-5.  W  36.  W  36.  W  46.  W  80.  W  78.). 

Americanism.  The  American  ideal  in  a  word  is 
justice;  it  is  the  sense  of  equal  rights.  The  Golden 
Rule  is  the  chief  unwritten  law  of  the  nation;  ab- 
stractly it  is  the  universally  acknowledged  social 

principle. In  the  full  sense  Americanism  is  the 

sum  of  all  the  traits  by  which  democracy  lives  and 
progresses,  and  by  which  the  individual  lives  well  his 
life  in  a  democracy.  The  true  American  believes  in 
progress  and  is  ready  to  fight  its  battles.  If  not  the 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      127 

poet  of  a  romantic  past,  he  is  the  herald  of  new 
events.  (P 4.  P  16-17.). 

Peace.    The  basic  cause  of  war  is  the  half  savage 
ideas  and  sentiments  remaining  in  an  age  of  growing 

reason   and    altruism. Human    nature    changes, 

and  may  change  from  hatred  toward  good  will.  No 
doubt  we  have  all  the  instincts  that  dwelt  in  the 
breast  of  the  primitive  savage ;  but  they  are  regulated 
by  ideas  and  sentiments.  Reason  gains  ground, 
reason  as  against  passion  and  prejudice  and  blind  will. 
Progress  comes  through  reason  and  the  altruism  that 

should    accompany    reason. Internationalism    is 

growing.  As  has  been  pointed  out,  there  may  be  a 
world  community  of  ideas  and  religion;  there  is  a 
universal  republic  of  science,  art,  and  letters.  There 
are  hundreds  of  interests  that  cut  across  national 
boundaries,  and  these  have  vastly  increased  in  num- 
ber and  importance. Opinion  turns  most  strongly 

toward  some  kind  of  federation  to  insure  peace,  on 
the  ground  that  material  agencies  are  necessary  to 
make  effective  the  awakened  conscience  and  reason 
of  the  world. We  have  not  fully  availed  our- 
selves of  the  moral  equivalents  of  war.  In  a  world 
at  peace  are  objectives  for  every  worthy  great  im- 
pulse. The  sacrifice  of  war  may  be  turned  to  con- 
struction, to  the  beautiful  and  the  true,  and  the  limit- 
less offices  of  good  will. So  long  as  the  mob  spirit 

is  easily  aroused,  and  mass  hysterics  is  a  daily 
phenomenon,  and  a  nation's  judgment  may  be  over- 
turned by  a  catchword,  and  prejudices  dethrone 


128  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

truth;  when  one  greatil  nation  after  (another  may 
topple  into  the  abyss  of  war  without  a  pause  on  the 
brink,  we  must  seek  some  powerful  educational 

means  to  enthrone  thought  above  passion. The 

race  theory  may  be  overdone,  from  the  standpoint 
of  science  and  history,  and,  as  seen,  it  may  lead  to 
abnormal  pride  or  even  to  madness.  We  are 
approaching  the  time  when  the  genius  of  every  nation, 
the  great  among  all  peoples,  shall  be  justly  recog- 
nized, and  race  insanity  will  cease  to  vex  the  world. 

We   are  looking  forward  to  the  constructive 

work  of  the  world,  which  may  be  the  source  of  in- 
terests greater  than  the  war  instinct.  Work  has  a 
new  value;  it  has  become  a  duty,  an  ideal.  It  is 
patriotism,  prayer,  religion;  it  rebuilds;  it  images  a 
new  world  fashioned  by  its  creative  mind  and  skilled 
hand;  it  would  replace  a  shattered  civilization  by  a 
new  model  expressing  the  fairest  and  best  in  the 
soul  of  man.  (W  94.  W  96-99.  W  101.  W  103.  W 
114.  R  14.  W  146.  W  115.)- 

Progress.  If  we  have  not  supernatural  agencies 
to  assist  us,  we  have  science,  adroitness,  and  self-help; 
of  we  have  not  dragons  and  fiends  to  overcome,  we 
have  crime  and  poverty  and  sickness  and  other  evils, 
and  can  play  the  St.  George  or  St.  Michael  with 
profit  and  renown;  if  we  have  not  knights-errant,  we 
have  seekers  for  truth;  if  we  have  not  the  enchant- 
ment of  remote  places  and  times  and  false  traditions, 
we  have  more  important  realities;  if  we  have  not  ex- 
aggerated fancies,  we  have  greater  knowledge;  if 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      129 

we  have  not  the  spectacular  life  of  aristocracy  and 
courts  and  conquests,  we  have  the  glories  of  freedom 
and  democracy,  and  the  conflicts  with  nature's 
forces. The  spirit  of  veracity  would  make  the  in- 
fluence of  journalism,  literature,  and  the  drama 
truthful  and  helpful;  would  create  an  era  of  social 
justice;  would  remove  the  caste  feeling  that  admits 
only  the  aristocracy  to  its  heaven,  and  extend  sym-» 
pathy  to  humble  life;  would  prove  the  saving  power 
of  work  from  the  tyranny  of  impulse  and  from  every 
form  of  evil ;  would  teach  men  to  keep  in  touch  with 
nature  and  reality  and  sound  sentiment,  and  thus 

check    decadent    and    degenerate     tendencies. 

Where  lies  the  responsibility  for  political  evils? 
Directly  with  the  good  but  apathetic  citizens  who  do 
not  value  their  liberties  enough  to  defend  them.  And 
the  result  is  the  loss  of  freedom,  the  chief  principle 
in  the  charter  of  democracy.  The  fault  is  not  in  our 

stars,  but  in  ourselves,  that  serious  evils  exist. 

The  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  the  Renaissance  are: 
vital  Christianity  as  contrasted  with  the  extremes  of 
formalism  and  fanaticism,  true  freedom  in  contrast 
with  license,  regulated  power  in  contrast  with  tyranny, 
high  hopes  for  the  age  on  which  we  are  entering. 
The  new  visions  and  the  creative  genius  of  the  artists 
in  the  period  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  are  the  most 
important  lessons  as  we  face  a  new  world  with  its 
startling  possibilities.  (N  112.  N  118.  P  9.  W 
H4-)- 


130  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

Utopias.  Great  revolutions  pass  through  a  stage 
of  anarchy  toward  true  freedom.  Ignorance  and 
fanaticism  aim  at  impossible  goals;  selfishness  grasps 
wildly  for  every  advantage.  And  the  struggle  goes 
on  until  the  idea  of  rights  of  others,  of  the  common 

good,  of  tolerance  and  cooperation  appears. A 

true  vision  of  progress  is  the  only  real  Utopia — 
not  a  state  of  perfect  conditions,  but  an  unending 
evolution  toward  it.  Should  the  perfect  state  arrive, 
it  would  not  exist  as  a  mechanical  system  of  external 
regulation,  but  in  the  hearts  of  men,  thence  working 
outward  in  human  relations.  (W  86.  P  33.)- 

Social 

Inharmonious  struggle.  We  have  not  traveled 
through  the  middle  and  modern  ages  to  end  in  mate- 
rialism, pessimism,  and  morbidness,  to  find  our  only 
means  of  progress  through  internal  struggles  and 
social  antagonisms,  to  live  in  hopeless  conflict  with 
the  enemies  of  law  and  justice,  to  be  constantly  con- 
fessing national  sins  and  weaknesses.  We  need  only 
eliminate  the  terrible  waste  of  inharmonious  struggle 
and  convert  it  into  constructive  power,  need  only 
appreciate  the  rich  gifts  of  the  present,  and  have  the 
vision  of  a  greater  future,  to  enter  upon  an  age  of 
swift  social  evolution.  (N  44. ) . 

Popular  appreciations.  In  comparison  with  the 
palmy  days  of  Athens,  is  our  art  today  equally 
original  and  representative  of  the  national  life,  and 
are  its  average  themes  comparable  in  value?  How 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      13  I 

do  our  problem  plays  measure  with  the  tragedies  of 
Aeschylus  and  Euripides  and  our  comedies  with  the 
satires  of  Aristophanes?  Have  we  great  national 
hymns,  and  do  our  youth  know  those  we  have? 
Granting  the  marvelous  modern  development  of  pure 
music,  how  about  the  sort  that  is  commonly  appreci- 
ated— ragtime  and  all  that  class?  And  of  the  music 
as  the  Greek  knew  it,  including  its  four  elements, 
have  we  only  what  is  meant  by  the  slang  term  "song 
and  dance"?  Until  our  art  has  risen  to  the  highest 
conceptions  of  our  civilization,  and  represents  the 
best  aspirations  of  our  people,  until  our  characteristic 
drama  teaches  deep  ethical  lessons,  until  our  popular 
music  represents  a  higher  aesthetic  sense  and  becomes 
worthy  of  this  age,  and  especially  until  art  in  all  its 
forms  is  incorporated  with  our  education  and  re- 
ligion and  life,  we  may  still  pay  just  tribute  to  the  cul- 
ture of  the  Greeks.  (N  27.). 

Ways  of  social  progress.  Believers  in  pure 
biologic  evolution  may  say,  Let  the  world  alone; 
society  will  progress  by  natural  laws;  you  can  add 
nothing  to  the  world-process  of  which  you  are  an 
atom  in  the  hands  of  fate;  survive  in  the  struggle  as 
jest  you  can  and  let  the  unfit  perish.  But  the  leaders 
in  sociological  thought  today  recognize  the  psychic 
factors  in  our  civilization ;  they  see  that  the  so-called 
natural  evolution  belongs  to  the  world  of  material 
force  and  animal  instinct.  The  conscious  reason 
takes  up  the  work  of  ideal  progress  and  becomes  the 
artificer  of  all  that  is  best  in  state  and  society.  The 


132  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

let-alone  principle  means  race  degeneration,  social 
degradation,  political  corruption,  industrial  oppres- 
sion, commercial  dishonesty.  Laissez-faire  is  indif- 
ference, laziness,  selfishness,  materialism,  fatalism, 
mere  subjective  religious  life  and  Pharisaism;  it  is  the 

Priest  and  the  Levite  and  not  the  Samaritan. 

The  man  of  science  studies  causes  and  not  effects 
alone:  prevention  for  degeneracy;  justice  for  pov- 
erty; education  for  inefficiency  and  civic  indifference; 
healing  for  diseased  minds;  regeneration  for  de- 
cayed souls. The  problem  is  not  to  train  men  to 

play  the  game  by  unjust  rules,  but  to  change  the 
rules;  not  to  relieve  poverty,  but  to  remove  it;  not 
to  finance  righteousness,  but  to  do  right.  We  have 
charities  to  aid  poor  children;  by  and  by  we  shall 
have  organized  societies  to  teach  not  only  domestic 
science  but  domestic  moral  science,  and  especially  to 
help  the  needy  sons  of  many  rich  families  and  give 
them  a  chance  in  life.  No  youth  should  have  the 
fearful  handicap  of  a  character  formed  in  luxury, 
ease,  and  license.  (P  82-3.  N  128.  N  54.). 

Industrial  questions.  Condemnation  of  the  ex- 
treme individualistic  system  and  the  resulting  in- 
equality of  conditions  based  on  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  the  advocacy  of  a  new  political  science  stand- 
ing for  the  cooperation  of  all  classes,  and  a  scheme 
for  democratic  instead  of  party  or  class  representa- 
tion, in  general  will  appeal  to  progressive  and  gen- 
erous minds. Let  the  state  do  whatever  it  can 

do  better  than  independent  enterprise;  let  all  other 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      133 

interests  remain  under  private  ownership.  The  lim- 
itations to  any  complete  socialistic  programme  are 
the  hostility  of  larger  and  stronger  forces  contain- 
ing the  best  leadership,  the  tendency  toward  indi- 
vidual ownership,  and  the  instinct  of  personal  posses- 
sion.  In  class  conflicts,  as  between  capital  and 

labor,  four  parties  are  concerned — the  contending 
groups,  the  people,  and  the  government.  True 
democracy  is  a  balance  of  governmental  powers, 
popular  rights,  and  special  interests. But  social- 
ism, so  far  as  it  stands  for  envy  and  hatred  and  greed, 
denies  common  rights,  refuses  to  recognize  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  "work"  and  the  place  of  genius 
and  those  of  superior  gifts,  is  a  menace  greater  than 
any  autocracy.  It  would  mean  tyranny,  degradation 
of  the  best  in  human  society,  and  the  destruction  of 

everything  of  highest  worth. One  instinct,  the 

most  powerful  in  human  nature,  will  forever  prevent 
extreme  socialism,  namely,  the  desire  for  possessions 
which  are  one's  very  own.  Most  men,  aside  from 
the  lazy  and  the  weak  and  the  fanatical,  view  com- 
munism with  fear  and  hatred.  They  wish  some- 
thing that  has  the  stamp  of  personal  ownership, 
something  won  by  struggle,  something  to  cherish 
and  defend,  to  be  used  according  to  individual  de- 
sire— home  and  all  that  clusters  around  it.  This 
sentiment  constitutes  much  of  the  poetry  of  life, 
and  it  dwells  as  certainly  in  humble  surroundings  as 

in  places  of  wealth  and  culture. The  regularly 

employed  often  face  destitution,  occasional  idleness 


134  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

brings  distress,  and  vagrant  labor  is  reduced  to  beg- 
gary. The  lack  of  steady  employment  lowers  the 
morale  of  the  worker  and  starts  him  on  the  down- 
ward scale.  There  should  be  a  national  system  to 
register  the  unemployed,  locate  them  on  the  nearest 
job,  and  secure  permanence.  In  line  with  movements 
in  other  countries,  we  shall  have  state  insurance  for 
unemployment,  accidents,  and  sickness,  and  public 

provision   for  old   age. Government  regulation 

of  disputes,  menacing  to  the  public,  and  blocking  the 
avenues  of  exchange  and  the  output  of  necessities, 
will  be  demanded  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
who  have  patiently  endured  consequent  hardships, 
but  are  becoming  restive  and  resentful  under  the 
tyranny  of  both  capital  and  labor.  Unrestricted  class 
strife  may  become  a  form  of  anarchy  and  interfere 
with  the  freedom  and  welfare  of  the  people  as  a 
whole. We  should  be  able  to  look  to  the  co- 
operation of  the  government  with  business,  and  with 
all  the  forces  that  make  for  progress  and  welfare;  to 
coordination  of  industries,  elimination  of  waste, 
directing  of  energy,  regulation  of  public  interests, 
settlement  of  disputes,  efficient  administration.  (W 
52.  W  53,  W  68.  W  51.  W  55.  W  67.  W  62.  W 
39-). 

Philosophy 

Work.  All  forms  of  honest  and  useful  work, 
done  in  the  spirit  of  devotion  and  service,  are  alike 
in  quality — that  of  the  laborer,  the  poet,  the  saint. 
Whoever  digs  a  ditch  and  does  it  honestly  and  well, 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      135 

when  he  might  shirk  without  discovery  or  loss,  does 
it  well  because  he  would  feel  himself  less  of  a  man 
if  he  fell  short  of  his  full  duty,  has  a  motive  of  like 
quality  with  that  of  the  hero  whose  deed  will  be  told 
in  history.  And  his  motive  has  an  absolute  value,  is 
absolved,  freed,  from  merely  material  or  selfish  in- 
terest, is  in  the  realm  of  ideals  which  are  complete  in 
themselves,  where  all  right  endeavor  has  a  meaning, 

all  virtue  a  reward. The  humblest  worker  may 

bring  fidelity  to  his  craft  and  thus  aim  at  the  uni- 
versal art  ideal — perfection  in  execution.  The  pride 
in  doing  things  well  is  one  of  the  best  satisfactions 
in  life,  and  art  in  mechanism  and  industry  is  not  so 

far  removed  from  its  finer  creative  forms. Edwin 

Markham's  "Man  with  the  Hoe",  as  applied,  not 
to  special  and  extreme  conditions  of  hardship,  but 
in  general  to  the  problems  of  the  human  race,  is 
wrong  at  the  foundation;  it  is  neither  correct  science, 
good  philosophy,  nor  accurate  history.  It  is  the  doc- 
trine of  the  fall  of  man  rather  than  of  the  ascent  of 
man;  it  is  the  doctrine  that  labor  is  a  curse.  With- 
out the  hoe  the  human  race  would  be  chimpanzees, 
savages,  tramps,  and  criminals.  At  a  stage  of  his 
progress,  by  cultivating  the  soil  man  of  necessity 
cultivates  his  soul.  The  hoe  has  been  an  indis- 
pensable instrument  to  the  growth  of  intelligence  and 
morals,  has  been  the  great  civilizer.  (N  91.  N  113. 
LiS8.). 

Sane  spirit.     Omar   Khayyam,   reclining  in  the 
shade  of  his  plane  tree  and  babbling  of  sensualism, 


136  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

pessimism,  and  fatalism,  without  hope  or  will,  seek- 
ing artificial  happiness,  represents  false  culture,  de- 
generate philosophy,  and  Oriental  decay.  Martin 
Luther,  singing  his  song  of  faith,  "A  Mighty  Fort- 
ress is  our  God",  and  hurling  defiance  at  the  arch 
enemy,  represents  the  health,  struggle,  and  optimism 
that  has  made  a  triumphant  Western  civilization. 
— — The  Greek  life  was  a  condemnation  of  the 
whole  brood  of  romanticists  and  degenerates  subject 
to  the  sway  of  particular  passions  that  more  or  less 
mark  later  periods  of  civilization.  It  was  the  oppo- 
site of  morbid.  It  did  not  breed  eccentricities  and 
moroseness.  (N  78.  N  33.). 

The  "commonplace" .  The  poetic  view  of  life  is 
the  right  one.  The  poet  sees  the  reality  in  the  com- 
monplace. Our  surroundings  are  filled  with  wonder- 
ful and  varied  beauty  when  we  open  our  eyes  to  the 
truth.  Our  friends  and  companions  are  splendid 
men  and  women  when  we  see  them  at  their  worth. 

We  must  seek  our  happiness  where  we  are,  in 

what  we  have  to  do,  in  the  simple  life;  see  things 
with  the  wonder  of  the  child  and  the  insight  of  the 
poet  on  whom  the  glory  of  the  world  never  palls. 
Here,  at  home,  are  types  who  represent  humanity 
and  its  problems.  Here  is  your  labor — a  daily  ex- 
ercise in  creative  will  and  aim  at  perfection,  the 
laughter  of  health,  the  exultation  in  struggle  and 
conquest.  Here  are  the  simple  needs  of  life,  if  we 
can  but  see  it  so,  blessings  for  gratitude  and  thanks- 
giving. Here  the  flowers  bloom,  a  wonder  of  evo- 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      137 

lution,  a  sign  of  purpose,  a  symbol  of  divine  thought. 
Here  colors  and  shades  paint  landscapes  in  the  soul. 
Here,  looking  forth  from  your  window,  you  see  hills 
snow-capped  and  sun-lit;  in  fancy  can  roam  the 
seven  seas  and  the  isles  thereof;  in  thought  can 
grasp  the  universe,  not  as  an  eternal  silence,  but  as 
pulsating  with  life  and  purpose,  and  infinite  joy, 

sympathy   and   promise. To   see   the   idyllic   in 

what  is  familiar,  to  realize  the  heroic  in  ourselves, 
to  make  the  lessons  of  greatness  our  own,  to  work 
with  the  spirit  of  our  time  are  the  means  of  growth. 

Stevenson's    "Lantern    Bearers"    answers    the 

question  whether  in  the  philosophy  of  work  there  can 
be  a  place  for  romance — the  "concealed  light  at  the 
belt."  To  be  a  lantern-bearer  on  the  lonely  heath, 
to  rejoice  in  work  and  struggle — this  is  the  romance, 
real,  attainable,  and  apt  for  the  world  as  it  is  and 
the  work  we  must  do.  If  irrational  pastime,  attended 
with  endurance,  may  be  a  joy,  surely  rational  effort 
toward  some  desired  result  may  have  its  poetry. 
Sacrifice  and  heroism  are  found  in  humble  homes; 
commonplace  labor  has  its  dangers  and  its  victories; 
and  many  a  man  at  his  work,  in  knowledge  of  the 
light  concealed,  the  interest  he  makes  of  his  vocation, 

his  romance,  exults  and  sings. Science  does  not 

rob  nature  of  beauty,  but  adds  to  its  wonder.  In- 
stead of  vague  or  fantastic  charcoal  sketches,  the 
mind  makes  accurate  photographs,  even  in  colors. 
And  the  pictures  become  the  material  for  fresh  art 
and  poetry. There  is  no  need  to  grow  old  in 


138  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

spirit.  Keep  the  buoyancy  and  freshness  and  hope  of 
youth.  Age  should  be  the  time  of  rich  fruition,  when 
enjoyment  in  life  should  be  deeper,  faith  stronger, 
and  hope  brighter.  (L  171.  N  80-1.  L  198.  L  164. 
L27-8.). 

Platonism.  Plato's  doctrine  is  one  of  ideas  and 
idealism.  It  matters  not  much  whether  we  hold  to 
the  view  of  Plato's  "ideas",  or  native  truths  of  the 
mind  developed  by  experience,  or  the  creative  ac- 
tivity of  the  mind  in  knowing  the  outer  world,  or  the 
doctrine  of  participation  in  the  divine  nature  and 
divine  thought,  or  the  power  to  generalize  from  the 
facts  of  subjective  and  objective  nature,  a  power  above 
and  not  of  material  nature — all  these  views  imply 
man's  spiritual  and  ideal  character.  Behind  man  and 
behind  nature  is  the  same  reality;  both  are  mani- 
festations of  that  reality.  To  know  the  outer  realm 

is  to  realize  the  inner. Modern  Platonism  makes 

a  man  a  part  of  the  Divine  Being,  with  power  to 
progress  in  knowledge  of  truth  and  in  moral  insight. 
This  progress  aims  at  an  ultimate  end  that  is  both 
a  realization  and  a  reward.  This  view  explains  our 
nature  and  aspirations,  our  intuitive  notions  and  sense 
of  right;  it  explains  the  seeming  providence  that  runs 
through  history  and  makes  all  things  work  together 
for  good;  it  explains  that  harmony  of  the  soul  with 
nature  that  constitutes  divine  music;  it  explains  the 
insight  of  the  poet  and  the  faith  of  man.  Theories 
must  explain  in  accordance  with  common  sense,  and 
make  harmony,  and  not  discord,  in  our  intellectual, 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      139 

aesthetic,    and    moral     feelings. The    Platonic 

ideals  of  individual  worth,  colonized  in  the  English 
universities,  and  later  finding  a  home  in  the  American 
college,  together  with  the  Puritan  doctrine  of  spirit- 
ual perfection,  are  a  strong  element  in  our  civiliza- 
tion.  We  can  hardly  believe  that  we  see  poetry  in 

the  ocean  and  stream  merely  because  we  were  once 
fishes,  or  love  the  forests  because  we  were  monkeys. 
In  our  opinion  the  whole  matter  of  perception  and 
of  interpretation  of  nature  is  still  best  explained  by 
some  form  of  the  Platonic  philosophy.  (L  46.  L 
253.  P  13.  P  189.). 

Modern  idealism  and  kindred  thought.  By  the 
law  of  his  mind  man  recognizes  the  absolute  value  of 
truth,  beauty  and  right — aside  from  the  utilities. 
*  *  *  *  The  development  of  the  faculties, 
material  advancement,  progress  of  civilization  are 
expressions  of  the  self-revealing  spirit  of  the  world. 
This  philosophy  of  idealism  views  the  world  as  a 
whole  and  man's  place  in  it.  It  teaches  that  the 
Universal  Will  comprehends  all  things  in  unity,  that 
it  is  the  source  of  truth  and  right,  that  in  so  far  as 
man  aims  at  these  ideals  he  works  with  the  Universal 
Will  toward  the  fulfillment  of  the  purpose  of  the 
world,  and  his  acts  have  an  eternal  value.  As  phil- 
osophy frees  itself  from  the  chain  of  naturalism,  it 
sees  that  the  Universal  Will  is  personality,  is  God, 

and  man  is  a  free  agent. We  speak  of  the  New 

Idealism.  It  is  not  new;  it  is  not  easily  defined;  it 
has  many  interpreters;  it  is  not  always  stated  in  terms 


140  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

of  reality,  and  many  even  border  on  mysticism.  But 
it  does  stand  for  a  "spiritual  world",  a  "spiritual 
life",  "absolute  values",  and  the  transcendent  im- 
portance of  conscious  participation  in  the  spiritual 
life.  We  believe  that  certain  attitudes — say  toward 
honor  and  justice — would  be  right  for  everybody, 
everywhere,  at  all  times;  that  they  are  absolutely  and 
eternally  right.  One  may  believe  that  the  sense  of 
an  absolute  right  or  good,  as  a  part  of  the  conscious 
mind,  is  evidence  of  things  not  seen  as  we  view  ma- 
terial objects,  but  proof,  the  most  certain,  and  proof 

of  the  highest  realities. In  the  leafless  autumn, 

when  the  fields  were  brown  and  bare,  you  have  looked 
to  the  western  horizon  and  watched  the  glow  and 
afterglow  of  sunset,  and  every  part  of  the  scene  re- 
lated itself  in  some  way  to  the  glory  of  the  distant 
view.  This  is  an  allegory  for  the  wisdom  which 
looks  to  the  far  spiritual  horizon.  This  wisdom  re- 
veals the  unity  of  the  world;  connects  the  parts  of 
experience  with  some  great  principle ;  shows  events  in 
true  perspective,  and  puts  just  estimates  on  life 
values;  gives  poise  to  the  character  and  strength  to 
the  heart;  confirms  the  belief  that,  somehow,  follow- 
ing the  ideals  called  best  is  the  true  way  of  life; 
creates  a  rational  faith  that  beyond  the  scene  on  whicfy 
the  human  drama  is  played  are  some  great  power 
and  some  great  purpose,  and  that  these  are  benefi- 
cent.  To  have  a  "feeling  of  the  whole"  is  the 

mark  of  greatness  that  lives  in  the  presence  of  God, 
weaves  the  metaphors  of  nature  into  a  grand  allegory, 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      141 

has  faith  in  the  order  of  the  world  and  belief  in 
progress,  bases  action  on  principle,  and  therefore 
sees  the  parts  in  proper  perspective,  is  heedless  of 
unworthy  trivialities,  is  undisturbed  by  disappoint- 
ment, and  sees  the  end  through  misunderstandings 

and  the  conflicts  by  which  it  must  be  attained. 

We  need  lights  as  well  as  shadows,  beauty  and 
variety,  and  the  everlasting  hills  to  which  we  may 
look  and  bring  our  thoughts  a  little  nearer  heaven. 
In  other  words  we  must  have  our  art,  our  ideals,  our 
leaders.  In  the  ethical  world,  we  cannot  afford  to  fill 

the  valleys  by  lowering  the  hills. Poetry,  in  the 

large  sense,  will  preserve  our  sanity  and  maintain  a 
rational  faith;  as  ever,  leap  to  truths  which  induc- 
tion is  slow  in  reaching.  If  the  people  are  to  be  ex- 
alted, our  young  men  must  see  visions.  The  Greek 
ideal  aimed  at  beauty  of  soul.  It  sought  harmony 
between  mind  and  body,  life  and  nature,  religion 
and  conduct,  the  individual  and  state.  It  adapted 
man  naturally  and  beautifully  to  his  environment. 
(N6o.  N85.N  121.  P  69.  P68.  N  12.). 

Scientific  attitude;  Trite  sayings.  The  scientific 
attitude  is  the  only  honest  one.  Whether  learning 
new  truth  or  applying  principles  to  use,  the  scientific 
worker  stands  on  firm  foundations ;  his  upbuilding  is 
substantial  and  permanent.  Science  has  for  its  ob- 
jects, not  only  material  things  and  natural  laws,  but 
the  quality  of  human  life,  and,  when  it  comes  to  its 
full  realization,  it  will  include  the  beautiful  and  the 
good  as  well  as  the  true. Evident  and  trite  say- 


142  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

ings — new  to  every  generation — may  be  valuable  be- 
cause evident,  and  true  because  trite.  They  are  the 
survival  of  the  fittest  in  human  wisdom;  they  come 
to  us  through  ages  of  evolution,  freighted  with 
human  history.  And  this  is  a  hint  to  that  class  of 
egotists  who  would  rather  create  a  new  sensation  than 
embellish  an  old  truth.  (N  113-18.  N  76.). 

Religion Freely  Viewed 

Rational  faith.  Any  doctrine  of  life  which  fails 
to  explain  the  supreme  facts  of  the  human  soul, 
purpose  in  creation,  and  to  provide  for  the  fulfillment 
of  purpose  is  hopelessly  inadequate  as  a  scientific 

hypothesis. Whatever  we  may  think  of  its  origin 

and  reality,  the  spiritual  sense,  the  light  within,  is  a 
fact,  and,  treated  as  such,  it  becomes  a  revealing  and 
energizing  power.  To  many  minds,  it  appears  as 
proof  of  a  world  of  spirit  in  contrast  with  the  world 
of  nature,  and  evidence  of  a  universal  spiritual  life. 

It  is  strange  if  nature  has  evolved  a  product 

whose  needs,  instincts,  and  native  beliefs  are  a  lie, 
a  product  without  aim  or  rational  grounds  for  ex- 
istence. Most  men  are  too  respectful  believers  in 
evolution  to  ascribe  to  nature  any  such  satanic  irony. 

We  explain  the  purpose  of  creation,  not  by  the 

first  struggle  of  a  protozoan  for  food,  but  by  the 

last  aspiration  of  man  for  heaven. In  a  sense, 

religion  is  optimism.  It  is  a  kind  of  faith  that  this 
is  a  beneficent  world,  that  the  scheme  of  creation  in 
the  end  will  be  a  success,  that  each  man  has  a  signifi- 
cant place  in  the  plan,  and  that  his  work,  if  right, 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      143 

counts. Thinkers  of  emancipated  mind  but  of 

essentially  reverent  character  are  studying  anew  the 
spiritual  need  of  humanity,  with  the  conclusion,  I 
believe,  that  religion  in  its  purity  and  in  its  progres- 
sive interpretation  is  necessary,  is  inherent  in  man's 
constitution,  is  valid  with  or  without  written  revela- 
tion, but  with  the  conclusion  that  its  true  expression 
is  joy  and  hope,  strength  and  reliance,  sympathy  and 
helpfulness.  They  show  that  the  Greek  ideal  failed 
because  it  represented  the  joy  of  life  without  its  re- 
straints ;  that  the  culture  ideal  has  failed  as  too  often 
lacking  vital  principles;  that  the  ascetic  ideal  has 
failed  as  denying  man's  complete  nature;  that 
materialism  has  failed  as  lacking  all  the  elements  that 
give  meaning  to  life.  Appears  ever  afresh  the  vision 
of  a  better  ideal  and  a  purer  faith  founded  on  an 

eternal  reality. Following  the  thought  of  a  well 

known  philosopher,  we  may  ask,  are  not  our  fancies 
and  our  facts,  our  errors  in  search  of  truth  and  our 
truths,  our  doubts  and  our  faith,  our  life  and  activity 
and  being,  proofs  of  a  Universal  Existence — the  re- 
vealer  of  truth,  the  source  of  truth,  and  the  Truth? 

This  religious  view,  presented  from  a  scientific 

standpoint  in  the  work  referred  to,  is  extremely  sig- 
nificant. It  is  given  as  a  plain  fact,  regardless  of  all 
theory,  that  religion  is  a  necessity  for  the  adolescent 
soul.  Thus,  those  that  are  repelled  by  orthodoxy 
are  caught  on  the  rebound  by  science.  This  view  will 
invite  reflection  in  the  minds  of  callow,  flippant  phil- 
osophers of  life. Spiritual  change  is  the  out- 


144  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

standing  fact  of  this  period  (of  the  War).  It  is  as 
if  the  perceptions  of  truth,  the  aims  at  justice,  the 
compassion,  all  the  wisdom  and  exalted  feeling  of 
the  long  past  had  revived  and  were  living  in  the 
soul  of  the  present.  (P  189.  N  101.  L  48.  L  224. 
N  64.  N  62.  L  184.  P  188.  W  25.). 

Christianity.  The  objector  had  not  thought  of 
the  value  of  the  Bible  to  a  large  portion  of  the  human 
race.  He  had  not  regarded  it  in  the  light  of  history 
and  philosophy.  The  ideals  for  which  the  Hebrew 
race  has  stood,  the  wonderful  prophecies  of  great 
and  far-seeing  men,  the  grand  poems  of  faith  and 
promise,  the  words  of  condensed  wisdom,  the  maxims 
for  right  living,  the  beatitudes,  the  teaching  of  the 
parables,  the  spirit  of  adoration,  the  moral  code,  the 
allegorical  wisdom  never  had  been  contemplated  by 
him  apart  from  the  religious  view  against  which  he 

had  imbibed  a  prejudice. When  we  think  of  our 

Hebrew  Bible,  full  of  conceptions  of  the  Deity, 
ethical  insights,  great  visions,  divine  fire,  poetry, 
prophesies,  exalted  literature,  and  of  the  Christianity 
foreshadowed  by  it  and  in  a  sense  growing  out  of  it, 
and  the  infinite  purity  and  promise  of  the  teachings 
of  Jesus,  and  when  we  see  the  possibilities  of  our 
Christian  world,  the  wonder  grows  that  we  have  not 
seen  more  clearly  in  flaming  characters  across  our  sky 

the  signs  by  which  we  might  conquer. When  we 

think  of  the  history  of  the  Bible — how  much  it  is  a 
part  of  our  laws,  our  society,  our  literature,  our 
ideals,  of  our  civilization  as  a  whole — there  seems 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      145 

little  doubt  that,  if  rightly  used,  it  is  the  best  means 
to  inspire  youth  with  great  motives.  What  a  well- 
spring  of  spiritual  force  is  in  the  wisdom,  the  ethics, 
the  religious  insight,  the  prophesy,  the  poetry,  of  the 
Old  Testament;  in  the  Golden  Rule  which  is  the 
law  of  good  will  to  men  and  the  social  aim  today,  the 
adaptability  to  progress,  the  power  to  lead  progress, 
of  the  New  Testament!  The  Bible  has  led  to  the 
heights  of  vision,  endeavor,  and  sacrifice;  it  has 
guided  real  progress;  and  today,  when  men  pause  to 
contemplate  the  centuries  of  the  English  Bible,  with 
one  accord  they  proclaim  that  its  wisdom  is  the  hope 

and  strength  of  the  nation. No  inferences  are  to 

be  drawn  that  I  underestimate  the  Christian  religion, 
morals,  and  ideals,  or  anything  that  is  excellent  in 
modern  life.  The  renunciations  of  saintly  men  and 
the  compensating  blessedness,  the  inner  tragedies  that 
give  vigor  to  our  best  dramatic  thought,  the  divine 
quality  of  conscience,  the  whole  category  of  beneficent 
Christian  precepts,  the  spiritual  wealth  in  material 
poverty,  the  philosophy  of  brotherhood  and  love,  the 
devotion  to  scientific  truth  are  the  bright  stars  in  our 

firmament. Christianity   stands   for   two  eternal 

principles — the  only  hope  of  humanity  and  the  only 
remedy  for  the  present  failure  of  civilization — 
namely,  universal  good  will  and  the  fact  that  good 
is  found  in  the  good  of  others.  It  remains  to  add 
that  when  individualism  becomes  rampant  and 
amounts  to  anarchy — high-class  or  low-class  political 
license — it  invites  its  own  destruction;  when  it  be- 


146  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

comes  romanticism — soul-license — it  has  led  in 
notable  instances  to  the  cloister,  the  asylum,  or  to 
suicide.  The  greatest  lesson  of  history  is  that  culture 

must  have  a  moral  backbone. The  work  of  this 

century  will  be  applying  Christianity  to  Democracy. 
The  work  of  the  pulpit  will  be  to  make  altruistic 
citizens.  To  this  end  the  principles  of  sociology  will 
be  used  more  and  more,  and  right  feeling  toward  its 
problems  will  be  earnestly  cultivated.  Of  course, 
faith  in  God  and  in  the  progress  of  man  will  still 

dominate. God  has  been  the  God  of  a  nation,  of 

a  party,  of  personal  interest,  of  theologies  and  creeds, 
not  the  God  of  universal  humanity.  Of  course 
religious  interpretation  varies  with  peoples  and  times, 
but  Christianity  today  stands  for  righteousness,  jus- 
tice, and  good  will.  It  stands  for  hope  and  courage, 

for  social  reconstruction  and  spiritual  progress. 

Occasionally  sermons  may  be  doctrinal  or  scientific 
or  philosophical  or  political.  Usually  they  should 
be  soul-quickening,  should  reach  the  need  of  univer- 
sal human  nature,  should  strike  the  chords  of  the 
heart  that  make  divine  music.  The  preacher  will  be 
most  successful  when,  with  insight  made  keen  by 
experience,  he  diagnoses  the  spiritual  disease  and 
applies  the  needed  healing  touch.  It  is  his  business 
to  arouse  right  feeling  which  precedes  right  conduct- 
Simplicity  and  that  touch  of  nature  which  makes 
him  kin  to  his  auditors  are  the  secret  of  his  success. 
One  need  only  to  study  the  character  of  the  forty 
parables  used  by  Christ  to  illustrate  practical  truths, 


VIEWS  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL;  PHILOSOPHY.      147 

many  of  them  recalling  familiar  experiences  of  his 
auditors,  to  know  the  value  of  simple  appeal  to  the 

heart  and  understanding. Some  good  and  wise 

people  sometimes  have  a  beatific  vision  of  a  United 
Christian  Church,  teaching  the  essential  doctrines 
of  a  religious  life,  and  also  uniting  all  forces  for  the 
betterment  of  society  and  for  the  elimination  of  all 
causes  of  degeneracy.  A  united  Church  would  be  a 
tremendous  power  in  solving  the  problems  of  democ- 
racy. This  is  more  than  a  dream;  it  is  a  prophecy. 

The  first  work  of  the  Church  must  ever  be  to 

extend  the  vitalizing  power  of  Christianity,  but  it 
will  fail  even  in  this  unless  it  makes  all  human  wel- 
fare, physical  and  mental  and  spiritual,  its  interest 
and  care.  It  is  openly  confessed  that  the  church 
fails  to  invite  and  gain  the  confidence  of  the  working 
people,  and  for  causes  which  it  alone  can  remove. 
Christianity  is  such  only  in  name  unless  it  reaches  the 
poor.  Passive  enjoyment  of  the  Christian  experience 
is  a  sin.  Christ  condemned  men  for  what  they  did  not 

do. Let  us  not  for  a  moment  lose  our  faith  in 

humanity,  in  progress,  or  in  God.  Humanity  stands 
the  test.  Progress  has  leaped  forward  a  hundred 
years,  and  has  gained  a  momentum  that  will  carry 
far.  Dark  doubt  seizes  us  as  we  look  upon  deeds  of 
savagery,  and  listen  to  the  almost  universal  cry  of 
anguish;  we  are  appalled  by  the  problem  of  evil  in 
the  world.  And  then  we  behold  a  miracle  more 
difficult  to  explain — evil  changed  to  good,  destruction 
turned  to  construction,  building  a  better  world. 


148  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

If  we  may  draw  a  lesson  from  this,  Carlyle's  greatest 
work,  it  is  that  the  completeness  of  life  requires  vivi- 
fying, hope-giving,  sin-subduing,  courage-inspiring 
faith  and  reverence.  To  the  hero  of  Carlyle's  prose 
poem  success  did  not  come  until  the  "fire-baptism"  of 
his  soul.  He  confesses:  "I  directly  thereupon  be- 
gan to  be  a  man." When  I  see  some  grand  old 

man,  full  of  faith,  courage,  optimism,  and  cheerful- 
ness, whose  life  has  conformed  to  the  moral  law, 
who  has  wielded  the  right  arm  of  his  freedom  boldly 
for  every  good  cause,  come  to  the  end  of  life  with 
love  for  man  and  trust  in  God,  seeing  the  way 
brighten  before  him,  turning  his  sunset  into  morn- 
ing, I  must  believe  that  he  represents  the  survival  of 
the  fittest,  that  his  ideals  are  not  the  mere  fiction  of 
a  blind  nature,  serving  for  the  preservation  of  his 
physical  being,  but  that  the  order  of  his  life  has  been 
in  accord  with  realities.  (L  239.  N  39.  N  77.  N 
33.  W  154.  P  158.  W  22.  P  152.  P  158.  P  158-9. 
W24.  L209.  Li86.). 


VIII    PRESENT  STANDPOINTS. 

Retirement 

Resources.  Can  life,  after  retiring  from  former 
activities,  be  a  success?  That  depends  on  several 
things — mental  furniture,  interest  in  passing  events, 
growth  through  reading  and  reflection,  devotion  to 
writing  if  that  be  in  one's  line,  outdoor  recreations, 
the  ability  to  see  much  in  commonplace  things  and  to 
preserve  the  feeling  of  wonder  at  the  glories  of  the 
world.  These  are  quite  as  important  as  satisfaction 
with  the  work  of  the  active  period.  Living  only  with 
the  past,  "anecdotage",  means  mental  decay.  Keep 
the  spirit  fresh,  as  in  youth,  by  interest  in  today  and 
hope  for  the  tomorrows,  the  mind  active  by  an  ever 
enlarging  view,  the  soul  healthy  by  faith  in  progress, 
and  in  the  purpose  running  through  human  affairs, 
and,  under  average  conditions,  you  will  find  life  em- 
phatically worth  living.  Even  physical  suffering  may 
be  regarded  with  a  grim  humor  as  an  incongruity  in 
a  natural  tendency  to  health,  or  as  induced  by  an 
ironical  mood  of  fate.  While  there  is  life,  "a  pleas- 
ant thing  it  is  for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  sun".  Rev. 
William  R.  Alger,  on  his  return  to  Denver,  after 
many  years  of  absence,  said  that,  as  age  advanced, 
his  enjoyment  in  life  was  deeper,  his  faith  stronger, 
and  his  hope  brighter.  On  asking  several  of  my 
friends,  all  of  large  experience,  what  they  would  do 
with  "retired  leisure",  various  suggestions  were 


150  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

offered  ranging  from  movies  to  politics — as  to  be  ex- 
pected, the  problem  remained  to  be  solved  by  my- 
self. Opportunity  has  been  used  to  get  more  in  touch 
with  the  great  questions  of  the  day,  to  sum  up  and 
publish  views  of  "University  Progress  and  College 
Reform",  to  record  and  publish  impressions  made  by 
the  War  under  the  title,  "After  the  War— What?" 
and  to  cultivate  egotism  by  an  autobiography. 
Various  addresses,  cooperation  with  the  League  to 
Enforce  Peace,  committee  work  on  an  educational 
code  for  Colorado  have  helped  fill  the  time.  The 
position  of  Specialist  in  Foreign  Educational  Sys- 
tems in  the  National  Bureau  of  Education  was  vir- 
tually offered,  but  declined.  Golf  has  been  the  chief 
recreation. 

Domestic.  "Family"  has  hardly  been  mentioned, 
and  the  sentiments  of  the  home  are  not  for  the  pub- 
lic; but  the  gods  are  daily  thanked  for  what  the  home 
has  been  and  is.  The  "helpmate"  bore  her  share  of 
the  burden  of  the  university  period  devotedly  and 
wisely  and  well;  her  work  in  local  clubs  and  as 
President  of  the  State  Federation  was  able  and  con- 
structive ;  her  record  in  the  war  work,  as  head  of  the 
Denver  Woman's  Council  of  Defence,  was  dis- 
tinguished and  of  the  highest  service.  The  following 
is  taken  from  resolutions  adopted  at  the  final  meeting 
of  the  Executive  Board:  "Whereas,  Jennie  Hilton 
Baker  has  both  led  and  served  the  Council  with  un- 
swerving devotion  to  duty,  with  utmost  disregard 
for  all  personal  interests,  striving  with  great  unselfish- 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  151 

ness  for  the  good  of  her  country,  using  her  tact  and 
fine  ability  in  welding  several  thousand  diversely 
trained  and  interested  women  into  one  harmonious 
and  effective  body  *  *  *  *"  The  daughter, 
whom  the  fond  parent  in  his  days  of  more  provincial 
views  expected  to  wed  some  Congregational  minister 
from  New  England,  or  at  least  a  professor,  asserted 
her  own  views,  and,  after  graduation,  taught  in  Porto 
Rico,  and  later  married  a  successful  engineer  and 
went  to  Japan.  The  son,  handicapped  by  poor 
health  in  all  his  early  years,  nevertheless  graduated, 
and,  instead  of  following  the  paternal  idea  of 
preaching  or  teaching,  turned  toward  business;  his 
health  was  bettered  by  the  army  experience  in  France. 
And  all  bear  with  the  eccentricities  of  the  "head  of 
the  family"  with  admirable  spirit. 

Current  History  ;    The  War 

A  fool's  paradise.  In  1914,  war,  if  not  impos- 
sible, seemed  improbable.  Many  things  were  making 
for  peace — the  growth  of  altruism,  the  use  of  arbi- 
tration in  settlement  of  disputes,  common  internation- 
al interests,  the  demand  for  commercial  stability,  the 
practical  futility  of  aggression,  and  the  prohibitive 
cost  of  modern  warfare.  Even  when  the  crisis 
approached  we  still  believed  that  at  the  last  moment 
the  nations  would  pause  before  a  horror  beyond  the 
power  of  description.  We  were  to  learn  that  our 
views  of  civilization  and  of  world  affairs  were  super- 
ficial; that  we  had  been  resting  on  a  slumbering 
volcano. 


152  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

America's  attitude.  During  the  first  act  of  the 
world  tragedy,  we  saw  only  a  renewed  European 
contest  for  balance  of  power,  a  struggle  in  which 
America  happily  had  no  part.  We  were  isolated 
from  the  Old  World  in  space,  spirit,  and  interest. 
We  were  superior  in  our  democracy,  our  peace  policy, 
and,  loyal  to  our  traditions,  we  would  keep  free 
from  foreign  entanglements.  We  must  remain  neu- 
tral, and  stand  as  an  example  to  the  world  of  an  ad- 
vanced civilization.  We  failed  to  hear  the  few 
watchmen  on  the  house  tops ! 

Dawn  of  an  idea.  We  had  worshiped  at  the 
shrine  of  German  education,  envied  her  applications 
of  science,  been  inspired  by  her  philosophers,  poets, 
and  musicians,  and  had  approved  many  of  her  insti- 
tutions, such  as  municipal  government  and  provision 
for  workingmen  against  times  and  conditions  of  need. 
The  awakening  was  gradual.  The  criminal  attack 
on  Belgium  shook  our  faith.  Atrocities  produced 
amazement  and  growing  indignation.  Still  we  would 
be  the  angel  of  peace;  we  would  appeal  to  humanity, 
would  turn  the  world  from  its  madness.  But  here 
and  there  we  began  to  glimpse  the  truth,  and  finally 
reached  a  full  view  of  causes  and  of  the  meaning  of 
later  European  history.  We  saw  clearly  the  prob- 
lems of  our  civilization  and  had  a  vision  of  a  recon- 
structed world. 

It  was  a  struggle  between  autocracy  and  aggres- 
sion on  the  one  hand,  and  freedom  and  justice  on  the 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  153 

other.  It  was  a  struggle  that  had  gone  on  in  Europe 
ever  since  the  reactionary  policy  following  the 
Napoleonic  overthrow.  Prussia  had  taken  over  from 
Austria  the  leadership  in  reaction.  Since  1870 
Germany  had  been  Prussianized.  The  government 
was  autocratic;  the  civil  authority  was  subject  to  the 
dominating  influence  of  the  military  power;  Ger- 
many had  prepared  for  war  and  was  responsible  for 
the  war — a  war  of  aggression,  a  final  attempt  at 
Caesarism  from  which  the  liberal  peoples  had  tried 
for  a  hundred  years  to  escape.  Germany  had  re- 
verted to  the  Northern  Gods  or  to  the  Old-Testa- 
ment doctrine  of  a  "chosen  people".  She  had  learned 
a  philosophy  of  might,  boasted  of  superiority  of  race 
and  of  Kultur,  and  claimed  the  right,  even  the  duty,  to 
extend  her  superior  civilization.  Her  science  was 
without  soul,  and  the  Christian  philosophy  was 
ignored  or  misapplied.  The  Western  Allies — Italy, 
France,  and  England — had  responsible  government, 
loved  freedom,  and  retained  many  of  the  ideals 
which  strengthen  and  adorn  a  people.  And  so  the 
forces  stood  opposed:  might,  autocracy,  aggression; 
right,  democracy,  justice.  Some  of  these  impressions 
were  put  in  writing : 

In  a  few  years  we  have  lived  centuries.  We 
sense  as  never  before  world  problems  and  spirit- 
ual values.  As  from  a  height  of  vision  we  com- 
prehend philosophies,  ideals,  institutions,  and 
duties.  The  true  spirit  of  humanity  appears, 
freedom  stands  clearly  defined,  the  soul  is 


154  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

strengthened  to  meet  supreme  tests.  That  the 
world  has  awaked  and  looks  with  clear  eyes  on 
the  devastated  field  of  civilization,  and  has 
made  a  high  resolve,  in  the  name  of  eternal  right 
and  justice,  to  restore  and  better  and  guard  it, 
is  the  one  great  compensation  for  the  indescrib- 
able calamity  that  has  befallen  the  race  of  man. 

America  awake.  The  new  vision  was  almost 
blinding.  Europe  for  a  hundred  years  had  been 
moving  toward  a  final  settlement  between  hostile 
ideas.  There  could  be  no  peace  until  the  triumph  of 
humane  and  progressive  policies.  The  old  conditions 
of  dishonest  diplomacy,  selfishness,  and  injustice 
must  go.  Absolute  sovereignty  was  anarchy;  inter- 
nationalism meant  an  ordered  world.  There  must 
be  a  new  era,  a  declaration  of  universal  human  rights. 
As  this  revelation  came  to  the  American  mind,  there 
was  a  deep  sense  of  shame  at  the  part  we  were  play- 
ing. The  war  had  become  civilization's  problem,  and 
we  were  a  selfish,  indifferent,  cowardly  people,  if  we 
did  not  join  the  fight  for  whatever  is  sacred  in  human 
institutions.  There  was  the  danger  that  we  might 
later  have  to  stem  the  German  tide  alone,  and  nation- 
al honor  called  for  defense  of  rights  on  the  seas; 
but  the  spirit  that  led  America  into  the  War  was 
ideal.  The  spontaneous  loyalty  of  the  people,  and 
the  rapid  and  efficient  action — spite  of  many  lacks 
and  failures,  the  almost  universal  devotion  and  sac- 
rifice confirmed  our  faith  in  the  power  of  a  free 
people  when  aroused  in  a  great  cause.  The  German 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  155 

machine  was  already  perfected  and  at  its  best;  the 
American  initiative  and  scope  of  thought  and  action 
had  no  artificial  limits.  We  had  attained  a  height 
of  vision  before  we  entered  the  War,  and  now  we 
reached  a  state  of  exalted  feeling  intensified  by  the 
hopes  and  fears  that  came  to  millions  of  homes. 
That  reaction  should  come  after  the  War  was  in- 
evitable, a  phenomenon  that  appeared  after  the  Civil 
War,  and  a  result  of  a  period  of  overstrained 
emotion.  What  grew  out  of  the  War,  and  the  three 
great  problems  of  this  and  coming  generations 
appear  under  another  head. 

The  following  extract  from  resolutions — pre- 
sented by  a  committee  of  which  the  writer  was  chair- 
man— adopted  at  a  mass  meeting  in  Denver  just 
preceding  the  declaration  of  a  state  of  war  is  per- 
haps representative  of  the  national  feeling  at  the 
time : 

In  the  present  national  crisis,  we  pledge  our  loy- 
alty in  defense  of  the  honor,  rights,  and  just  in- 
terests of  our  country.  Not  only  our  rights,  but 
our  place  in  the  council  of  nations,  our  civiliza- 
tion, and  our  hopes  of  permanent  world  peace 
are  at  stake,  and  this  country  in  its  united 
strength  should  stand  ready  to  enforce  its  ap- 
peals. Acts  of  the  German  Government  in  the 
present  conflict  disclose  principles  of  national 
conduct  which  are  inconsistent  with  the  prin- 
ciples, the  purposes,  and  the  aspirations  of  this 
republic,  and  of  all  free  peoples. 


156  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

The  peace.  Interest  in  peace  propaganda  before 
the  War,  and  charter  membership  in  the  League  to 
Enforce  Peace,  led  to  complete  sympathy  with  the 
proposed  League  of  Nations  and  the  Covenant  as 
written  at  Versailles.  The  President,  whatever 
shortcomings  in  his  "home  diplomacy"  were  to  be 
deplored,  had  far-reaching  views  of  world  recon- 
struction, almost  inspired  and  prophetic,  and  his  in- 
fluence was  great  in  leading  the  nations  toward  the 
light.  The  opponents  of  the  League  seemed  to  be 
sightless,  or  reactionary,  or  influenced  by  politics  and 
animosities — obstacles  that  should  be  swept  from  the 
path  of  progress.  And  on  many  public  occasions  I 
forcibly  expressed  these  opinions.  Absolute  sover- 
eignty was  anarchy,  a  principle  that  had  made  a  hell 
on  earth  for  four  years.  If  Americanism  meant  iso- 
lation and  selfishness,  then  God  help  the  country,  for 
there  was  no  longer  virtue  in  the  people.  True 
Americanism  was  to  be  found  in  the  ideas  that 
brought  the  Pilgrims  and  the  Puritans  to  this  land, 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  aims  at 
political  and  social  justice  at  home,  and  in  the  new 
sense  of  the  nation's  obligations  in  world  affairs. 

The  history  of  political  and  social  evolution  is 
proof  positive  that  internationalism  must  follow  the 
present  stage.  From  the  isolated  Ishmaelitic  family 
to  the  clan  and  clan  group,  the  tribe,  the  city,  the  city- 
state,  allied  states,  the  nation,  there  has  been  a  steady 
enlargement  of  common  interests  and  cooperative  re- 
lations. The  present  rapid  increase  in  number  and 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  157 

importance  of  such  interests  between  nations,  the 
necessity  of  mutual  understanding  and  help,  the  grow- 
ing idea  of  brotherhood  and  justice,  the  new  vision  of 
a  new  world  all  point  toward  international  organiza- 
tion. 

Reconstruction 

Three  world  problems.  Memoirs  may  not  prop- 
erly include  prophecy,  but  views  of  events  and  prog- 
ress are  the  resultant  of  all  that  has  preceded  in  ex- 
perience and  thought.  The  three  great  world  prob- 
lems are  Democracy,  Internationalism,  and  Industry. 
If  reconstruction  is  to  be  wise  and  far-seeing,  the 
revelations  of  the  War  must  henceforth  be  new 
elements  in  political  and  social  thinking.  Everyone 
who  has  analyzed  the  chief  factors  in  our  civilization, 
and  studied  the  means  of  progress  must  be  a  visioner 
of  a  better  future. 

The  "times".  A  period  of  reaction  inevitably 
follows  war.  A  law  of  progress  in  this:  there  is  a 
forward  movement  followed  by  a  partial  relapse  to- 
ward previous  conditions,  then  another  attempt — but 
progress  is  made.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  gradual 
emancipation,  religious  and  political  and  social  and 
industrial,  of  the  human  race.  It  appears  in  political 
change  in  cities.  Municipal  reform  has  a  painful 
history,  but  outrages  on  the  public  that  were  common 
enough  a  few  decades  ago  would  be  impossible  to- 
day. During  the  crises  of  the  War,  we  had  great 
visions,  lofty  ideals,  exalted  sentiments.  Now,  when 


158  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

a  man  has  had  a  vision,  has  received  a  new  idea,  has 
aspired  toward  an  ideal,  he  never  can  be  quite  the 
same  again ;  these  influences  will  persist  and  work  to- 
ward new  results.  And  this  is  why  the  world  can 
never  again  be  the  same ;  it  must  go  forward  toward 
a  Utopia,  never  to  be  realized  as  a  final  state  of  per- 
fection, but  as  an  eternal  progress  toward  it.  Shall 
we  accept  the  world  as  it  is?  Carlyle  once,  when  told 
that  Margaret  Fuller  "accepted  the  Universe",  re- 
plied, "Gad  she'd  better!"  But  the  writer  of  the 
anecdote  reflects  that  neither  Carlyle  nor  Margaret* 
Fuller  nor  you  nor  I  nor  anybody  accepts  the  uni- 
verse as  it  is — and  Gad  we'd  better  not.  The 
purposeful  mind  and  the  active  will  constantly  create 
progress.  The  attitude  toward  vital  questions  and 
possible  goals  is  all-important. 

Septuagenarians  are  supposed  to  glorify  the  days 
of  their  past  and  to  misjudge  the  present,  contrary  to 
the  doctrine  in  Bernard  Shaw's  "Return  to  Methu- 
selah". Perhaps  the  aged  are  impatient  of  current 
follies,  not  because  they  are  new,  but  because  they 
are  follies.  The  changes  in  a  lifetime,  though  on  the 
whole  for  the  better,  of  course  are  attended  with  the 
imperfections  of  new  ideas  and  experiments,  and  the 
reasonable  attitude  is  that  of  patience  and  hope.  But 
we  may  point  to  a  fundamental  evil,  namely,  the 
tendency  to  live  in  and  for  the  day  only,  to  make 
life  fragmentary.  This  means  lack  of  discipline, 
of  a  comprehensive  philosophy,  and  of  imagination. 
In  discarding  the  classical  tradition,  we  threw  away 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  159 

the  kernel  with  the  shell.  The  ills  of  the  time  call 
for  a  training  that  can  persevere  to  a  distant  goal, 
an  idealistic  philosophy  that  reveals  the  significance, 
in  the  order  of  things,  of  every  good  work ;  they  need 
the  long  perspective  of  history,  and  preeminently 
the  vision  of  the  poets.  The  result  would  be  a  sense 
of  proportion,  of  the  smallness  of  many  things  that 
loom  large,  of  absolute  values;  the  power  to  make  of 
life  an  organized  whole. 

It  has  been  well  stated  that  modern  society  is  so 
involved  that  practically  we  live  by  mutual  consent. 
The  great  principle  which  must  be  applied  to  the 
three  chief  problems  of  our  civilization  is  Coopera- 
tion under  justice!  This  conclusion  seems  to  be  final, 
and  the  purpose  here  is  to  apply  the  principle  to 
democracy,  the  relation  between  nations,  and  the 
strife  between  classes.  It  is  a  principle  which,  if  not 
voluntarily  adopted,  will  be  forced  upon  us  by  the 
stern  logic  of  events. 

Democracy.  Democracy  is  not  the  social  state  es- 
tablished by  political  and  social  revolution  in  the  in- 
terest of  a  class,  in  which  individual  liberty  would 
be  swallowed  up  by  the  unrestricted  power  of  or- 
ganized government;  it  is  not  the  communistic  state 
which  would  mean  slavery  for  everybody;  it  is  not 
anarchy,  the  worst  tyranny  of  all;  it  it  not  the  dom- 
inance of  any  one  class,  capitalistic  or  proletarian. 
But  it  means  equal  rights,  equal  justice,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible equal  opportunity,  mutual  understanding  and 


l6o  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

good  will,  subordination  of  class  interest  to  the 
greater  common  interest — in  brief  cooperation  under 
justice.  A  view  of  democracy  is  presented  on  other 
pages  and  need  not  be  repeated  here.  Democracy  is 
not  yet  made  safe  for  the  world,  and  a  long  process 
of  education  in  reducing  class  consciousness  and  in 
comprehensive  views  that  will  include  the  other  fel- 
low's standpoint  must  precede  the  general  acceptance 
of  the  means  of  political  salvation. 

If  there  is  a  purpose  running  through  human 
affairs,  it  is  shown  in  the  growth  of  free  institutions. 
From  the  Athenian  Democracy  and  the  Roman  Re- 
public to  the  reaction  of  the  World  War,  history  is 
largely  made  up  of  the  efforts  to  realize  the  innate 
desire  for  equal  rights  and  self-government.  Repre- 
sentative rule  in  the  Mediaeval  Italian  cities,  the 
Reformation,  Puritan  England,  the  American  Revo- 
lution, the  French  Revolution,  the  liberal  movements 
of  the  last  century  in  Europe  mark  stages  of  progress. 
Democracy  is  not  a  panacea.  It  has  failed  to  cure 
class-selfishness,  neglect  of  public  duty,  and  the 
malign  influence  of  the  politocrat  and  the  plutocrat. 
But  there  have  been  important  gains.  There  has 
been  a  growth  of  reason  and  of  the  social  conscience. 
Leveling  has  gone  on  apace  toward  political,  social, 
and  economic  equality.  The  constructive,  human- 
itarian element  has  grown  in  relative  strength  beyond 
the  selfish,  the  indifferent,  and  the  criminal  elements. 
Democracy  has  legislated  for  the  poor  and  the 
oppressed;  measured  by  results,  it  has  proved  on  the 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  l6l 

whole  superior;  it  is  hopeful  and  progressive  today. 
There  can  be  no  permanent  radical  change  of  gov- 
ernment, simply  an  evolution  toward  better  condi- 
tions. Oligarchies,  the  capable  and  efficient  few,  must 
and  will  lead  in  government  and  industry,  but  under 
the  logic  of  events  they  will  be  forced  to  recognize 
equal  rights  and  community  of  interests.  There 
can  be  no  permanent  tyranny  of  any  one  class.  We 
may  settle  down  to  certain  facts:  democracy  is  a 
growth;  it  is  rooted  in  the  character,  the  wisdom,  the 
justice  of  the  people,  and  it  will  develop  as  we  in- 
crease public  morals,  reason,  and  altruism.  Our  civic 
duty  is  plain:  to  judge  and  act  upon  present  issues 
with  reference  to  the  great  ideal;  to  choose  the  best 
leaders;  to  encourage  local  self-rule  for  its  training 
in  public  duties;  to  make  government  a  business  and 
not  a  graft;  to  create  a  common  ground  between 
hostile  classes. 

Internationalism.  In  the  vicissitudes  of  world 
politics  we  have  to  adhere  to  one  idea :  international 
relations  must  be  progressively  organized  for  peace, 
for  law,  for  fair-dealing,  for  the  rights  of  all  peoples, 
for  the  advancement  of  civilization.  That  America 
must  play  a  prominent  part  in  world  affairs  goes 
without  saying.  And  that  part  should  be  played 
generously,  with  the  best  ideals  of  humanity  and  of 
duty  constantly  in  view,  and  with  faith  that  whatever 
contributes  to  the  welfare  of  other  peoples  will  re- 
dound to  her  advantage.  America  might  be  the 
greatest  stabilizing  force  of  the  world,  because  of  her 


1 62  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

strength,  her  sane  democracy,  and  her  public  ideals. 
She  can  make  permanent  and  effective  a  new  order 
in  which  artful  diplomacy,  balance  of  power,  unjust 
settlements,  aggression,  and  exploitation  will  have  no 
place.  America  cannot  remain  isolated;  she  must 
have  a  definite  constructive  policy  inaugurated  and 
guided  by  men  who  no  longer  dwell  with  an  impos- 
sible past,  but  have  open  minds  toward  beneficent 
change.  A  rustic  philosopher  defined  absolute  sov- 
ereignty "doing  as  one  dad  burn  pleases" — like  the 
savage  or  the  anarchist.  Absolute  sovereignty  is 
anarchy  and  no  longer  possible  in  a  world  of  grow- 
ing reason  and  altruism.  Some  of  the  European 
nations  have  had  the  sense  of  right  and  obligation 
beaten  into  them  by  herculean  blows;  if  America 
does  not  possess  or  acquire  that  sense,  she  will  ulti- 
mately learn  it  through  disaster.  World  movement 
goes  on,  and  we  can  "lead  the  procession  or  join  it  or 
let  it  run  over  us",  but  we  cannot  keep  out  of  it.  A 
soldier  of  the  Allies,  who  had  repeatedly  "gone  over 
the  top",  in  a  moment  of  rest  and  meditation  ex- 
claimed, "This  is  a  hell  of  a  war;  but  then  it's  the 
only  war  weVe  got,  and  we'll  see  it  through".  This 
is  a  deuce  of  a  peace;  but  it's  the  only  peace  we've 
got,  and  we  must  see  it  through.  The  principle  which 
applies  to  democracy  must  obtain  in  the  relations  be- 
tween nations,  if  we  are  to  avoid  perpetual  wars  and 
the  destruction  of  the  best  in  our  institutions — the 
principle  of  cooperation  under  justice. 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  163 

Industry.  In  industry  we  have  before  us  the 
choice  of  three  things:  continual  strife,  socialism,  or 
cooperation.  We  cannot  endure  the  condition  of 
warfare;  it  has  become  too  acute.  We  do  not  want 
the  communistic  state.  There  remains  only  coopera- 
tion under  justice.  There  are  possible  grounds  for 
common  understanding  and  agreement :  ( i )  Apply 
the  Golden  Rule.  (2)  Recognize  rights  and  duties 
common  to  capital  and  labor — the  right  to  organize 
and  bargain;  responsibility  for  contracts  and  for  all 
obligations  and  acts.  (3)  Recognize  individual 
freedom  regarding  unions;  in  other  words  maintain 
the  open  shop,  open  both  ways.  Let  capital  meet 
the  demand  for  collective  bargaining;  let  labor  avoid 
tyranny  over  non-union  workingmen.  (4)  Recognize 
that  labor  has  rights :  right  to  a  living  wage,  to  some 
of  the  comforts  of  life,  to  provision  against  need,  to 
recreation,  to  means  of  educating  the  children,  to 
opportunity  for  some  kind  and  degree  of  culture — 
in  short  to  live  a  life  worth  living,  even  as  you  and  I. 
(5)  Recognize  that  capital,  properly  regulated,  is 
absolutely  indispensable,  that  capital  is  largely  made 
up  of  small  savings  of  many  people,  investments  that 
establish  and  maintain  industries  and  provide  work 
and  bring  returns.  Investigations  in  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States,  representing  both  government 
and  science,  agree  that  there  must  be  some  kind  of 
national  industrial  organization,,  in  which  capital 
and  labor  and  the  public  shall  be  represented,  to  dis- 
cuss problems,  reach  understandings,  make  agree- 


164  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

ments,  or,  in  case  of  serious  disputes,  to  reach  settle- 
ments by  arbitration. 

New  outlook.  Notwithstanding  the  reactions 
following  the  War  which  furnish  arguments  for  the 
pessimist,  the  lessons  learned  in  that  fearful  period 
will  not  be  wholly  lost.  Then  work  was  patriotism, 
was  duty,  was  prayer,  was  religion,  was  victory,  was 
the  triumph  of  the  right,  was  a  joy.  The  new  view  ot 
work  should  show  labor  and  invention  the  significance 
of  transmuting  material  into  things  of  utility  and  of 
discovering  new  principles  and  improving  inventions. 
It  should  reveal  to  art  and  science  greater  glory  in 
beauty  and  truth.  As  long  as  there  is  ignorance  to 
be  educated,  poverty  to  be  relieved,  disease  to  be  pre- 
vented, wrong  to  be  righted,  dormant  souls  to  be 
awakened,  progress  to  be  made,  humanity  and  re- 
ligion should  find  an  unlimited  field  for  their  good 
offices. 

Spirit  of  Culture.  Kultur  in  part  is  organization 
and  efficiency  of  material  civilization ;  culture  in  part 
is  recognition  and  acquisition  of  the  best  in  spiritual 
values.  France,  Italy,  England,  and  the  United 
States  had  received  and  retained  much  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  had  cultivated  the 
doctrines  of  humanism  and  had  conceptions  that  rose 
above  scientific  barbarism;  and  we  may  believe  that 
this  fact  gave  them  the  spiritual  power  that  carried 
them  to  final  victory.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest 
lesson  of  the  world  conflict,  that  the  strength,  safety, 


PRESENT    STANDPOINTS.  165 

and  glory  of  a  people  are  maintained  by  the  spirit 
of  culture  which  looks  toward  ideals.  At  this  new 
dawn  of  freedom  and  justice,  before  which  the  grim 
specters  of  the  past  are  fleeing,  it  is  great  to  be  alive, 
it  is  glorious  to  be  young.  The  visionless  are  many; 
the  poet  minds  are  few.  Will  the  new  generation  be 
of  those  who  see  only  material  things  and  fixed  con- 
ditions, or  will  they  be  of  those  who  see  great  visions 
and  help  build  the  ever  better  world  of  tomorrow? 
There  is  a  poem  written  on  a  well-known  man  who 
had  many  virtues  and  many  faults.  In  thought  it 
says:  And  I  too  praise  him,  but  not  for  the  baser 
things  and  not  for  the  things  which  command  the 
world's  applause,  but  for  the  dreams,  those  impos- 
sible gleams  he  half  made  possible;  for  that  he  was 
visioner  of  vision  in  a  most  sordid  day. 


.    APPENDIX. 

Introduction   (to  "Appreciation  of  Services")* 

On  December  3,  1913,  James  Hutchins  Baker, 
the  third  president  of  the  University  of  Colorado, 
presented  to  the  Board  of  Regents  his  resignation, 
to  take  effect  on  January  i,  1914.  In  recognition  of 
his  distinguished  service  to  the  Institution  in  the 
twenty-two  years  of  his  presidency,  the  Regents  gave 
him  the  title  of  President-Emeritus  and  voted  to  con- 
tinue his  salary  to  January  1,1915.  At  a  later  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  they  voted  that  the  January  num- 
ber of  the  University  of  Colorado  Bulletin  should 
be  a  memorial  in  recognition  of  his  service.  The 
Trustees  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Teaching  have  recognized  his  educa- 
tional work  by  granting  him  a  retiring  allowance. 

The  news  of  President  Baker's  retirement 
brought  expressions  of  regret  from  every  side.  Com- 
memorative exercises  were  held  in  the  Macky  Audi- 
torium on  December  18.  The  following  evening  the 
Faculty  Senate  gave  a  dinner  in  his  honor.  A  recep- 
tion in  honor  of  Mrs.  Baker  was  given  by  the  ladies 
of  the  faculties  on  December  17.  There  have  been 
many  similar  functions  by  various  groups  and  or- 
ganizations, and  others  are  planned  for  the  near 
future. 


*  The  four  sections,  from  "Introduction"  to  "Address  from 
the  Faculty",  are  reprinted  from  "Appreciation  of  Services" 
published  by  the  Regents,  1914. 


APPENDIX  167 

In  this  Bulletin  are  given:  the  letter  of  resigna- 
tion; the  Regents'  resolutions;  resolutions  of  the 
faculty;  abstracts  of  addresses  made  at  the  commem- 
orative exercises;  excerpts  from  editorials,  letters, 
and  telegrams.  In  this  "Introduction"  an  attempt  is 
made  to  give  certain  pertinent  facts  that  may  not 
appear  elsewhere. 

James  Hutchins  Baker,  the  son  of  Wesley  and 
Lucy  (Hutchins)  Baker,  was  born  in  Harmony, 
Maine,  October  13,  1848.  Both  parents  were  natives 
of  Maine,  of  old  New  England  and  Revolutionary 
stock.  He  received  his  elementary  education  in  the 
common  school  of  his  native  town,  and  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  taught  his  first  school,  being  self-supporting 
from  that  time.  He  entered  Bates  College,  at  Lew- 
iston,  Maine,  in  1869,  receiving  the  degree  A.B.  in 
1873  and  tne  degree  A.M.  in  1876.  In  1892  his 
Alma  Mater  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree 
LL.D.  From  1873  to  1875  he  was  principal  of  the 
Yarmouth  (Maine)  High  School. 

He  came  to  Colorado  in  1875  to  accept  the  prin- 
cipalship  of  the  Denver  High  School  (now  East 
Denver  High  School),  a  position  which  he  filled 
with  distinction  for  seventeen  years.  During  his  ad- 
ministration the  building  now  in  use  was  erected,  the 
attendance  increased  from  fifty  to  over  seven  hun- 
dred, and  the  school  became  recognized  as  one  of  the 
best  and  most  progressive  secondary  schools  in  the 
United  States. 


1 68  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  residence  in  Colorado, 
he  identified  himself  closely  with  the  educational 
interests  of  the  State.  He  was  president  of  the  State 
Teachers'  Association  in  1880,  and  for  six  years  was 
president  of  the  Educational  Council.  He  became 
a  member  of  the  National  Council  of  Education  in 
1886,  and  in  1891  he  was  elected  president  of  this, 
the  highest  educational  council  in  this  country.  In 
1907  he  was  president  of  the  National  Association  of 
State  Universities.  He  is  a  Fellow  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  At  the 
time  of  his  retirement,  he  was,  in  length  of  service, 
the  dean  of  the  state  university  presidents. 

As  one  of  the  national  leaders  in  educational 
thought  and  inquiry,  President  Baker  not  only  con- 
tributed many  valuable  papers  to  educational  science, 
but,  in  connection  with  the  National  Education 
Association  and  the  National  Association  of 
State  Universities,  he  has  initiated  or  taken 
a  prominent  part  in  several  investigations  of 
wide  importance  and  influence,  and  has  served  on 
many  committees.  The  following  are  especially 
noteworthy :  The  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten 
on  "Secondary  School  Studies,"  1893,  which  aroused 
interest  in  problems  of  secondary  education  through- 
out the  entire  nation  and  has  since  been  the  fruitful 
source  of  many  similar  investigations;  "Economy  of 
Time  in  Education,"  printed  by  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Education  in  1913,  an  investigation  which 


APPENDIX  169 

contemplates  the  reorganization  of  American  educa- 
tion; UA  National  University,"  a  plan  which  he  has 
advocated  for  many  years  and  which  is  now  receiving 
most  careful  consideration  by  national  educational 
and  political  leaders;  and  "The  Standards  of  Amer- 
ican Universities." 

President  Baker  is  the  author  of  "Elementary 
Psychology,"  1890,  Charles  E.  Merrill  Company  of 
New  York;  "Education  and  Life,"  1900,  "Amer- 
ican Problems,"  1907,  and  "Educational  Aims  and 
Civic  Needs,"  1913,  all  published  by  Longmans, 
Green,  and  Company  of  New  York.*  The  first  has 
been  a  recognized  textbook  for  high  schools  and 
academies,  and  all  have  attracted  favorable  comment 
from  leading  magazines.  He  has  also  written  many 
valuable  papers  and  delivered  many  important  ad- 
dresses on  educational  and  kindred  subjects. 

On  June  20,  1882,  he  married  Miss  Jennie  V. 
Hilton,  a  native  of  New  York,  daughter  of  Rev. 
John  V.  Hilton,  a  Congregational  clergyman  of  Bos- 
ton and  later  of  Denver.  They  have  two  children, 
Helen  (now  Mrs.  Hamilton  McRary  Jones,  of  San 
Juan,  Porto  Rico),  and  Hilton,  a  senior  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Liberal  Arts.  Mrs.  Baker  has  taken  an  active 
part  in  society  and  in  club  work  both  in  Boulder  and 
in  Denver,  and  has  had  a  practical  interest  in  many 
phases  of  student  welfare.  She  was  the  founder  of 


*  Later,  "American  University  Progress  and  College  Re- 
form Relative  to  School  and  Society";  "After  the  War— 
What?" 


170  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

the  Woman's  League,  an  organization  including  all 
the  women  in  the  University,  and  during  the  eighteen 
years  of  its  existence  has  been  a  trusted  counselor 
on  its  advisory  board.  She  is  a  life  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Woman's  Club  of  Boulder, 
of  which  organization  she  was  a  charter  member  and 
president  for  the  first  three  terms.  She  was  president 
of  the  Colorado  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs 
in  1898-1899.  By  her  tact  and  sympathy  she  has 
won  for  the  University  many  strong  and  influential 
friends.  In  the  light  of  President  Baker's  success, 
both  as  Principal  of  East  Denver  High  School  and 
as  President  of  the  University  of  Colorado,  no 
higher  tribute  can  be  given  Mrs.  Baker  than  to  say 
that  in  his  work  she  has  been  a  real  helpmate. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  President  Horace  M. 
Hale  on  December  9,  1891,  the  Board  of  Regents 
elected  James  Hutchins  Baker  to  succeed  him.  He  as- 
sumed his  new  duties  on  January  i,  1892.  He  was  not 
formally  inaugurated,  however,  until  May  21,  1892. 
His  address  on  this  occasion  is  in  many  ways  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  addresses  ever  delivered  by 
him.  The  closing  paragraphs,  because  they  are  in- 
teresting in  the  light  of  the  achievements  of  the  suc- 
ceeding twenty-two  years,  are  here  recalled. 

"Here  in  this  land  of  pure  air  and  sunny  skies,  by 
the  broad  plains  and  mighty  mountains,  among  an 
ideal  people,  we  may  hope  that  an  institution  may 
grow  which  will  not  only  serve  its  purpose  to  edu- 
cate the  young  men  and  women  within  our  borders, 


APPENDIX  171 

but  may  reach  forth  and  invite  many  a  youth  from 
remote  sections,  who  will  find  in  Colorado  the  best 
opportunities  for  liberal  education. 

"It  shall  be  enough,  if  I  may  be  able  to  contribute 
at  this  stage  of  its  history,  wisely  and  efficiently,  to- 
ward the  vigorous  growth  of  an  institution  whose  in- 
terests have  already  become  to  me  a  sacred  trust, 
and  then  leave  to  others  the  enjoyment  of  the  later 
years  of  fulfillment." 

The  little  college  to  which  he  had  come  was 
unknown  outside  of  Colorado,  and  unrecognized  by 
the  people  of  the  State  whose  name  it  bore.  Prin- 
cipal Baker  had  made  a  mistake,  people  said,  in 
giving  up  a  position  in  which  he  had  gained  a  nation- 
al reputation,  to  take  the  presidency  of  an  institution 
whose  past  could  offer  so  little  to  its  future.  But  the 
new  president  had  an  inspiring  vision. 

He  said :  "Every  institution  must  have  its  period 
of  discouragement  and  doubts,  its  period  of  expendi- 
ture without  adequate  returns,  its  period  of  enormous 
expense  per  capita.  But  during  this  time  it  is  accu- 
mulating force,  and,  like  the  century  plant,  by  and 
by  it  will  burst  into  generous  bloom.  It  took  Harvard 
two  hundred  years  to  reach  in  some  ways  the  de- 
velopment that  our  University  has  reached  in  fifteen 
years.  The  University  has  arrived  at  a  new  epoch 
in  its  history.  The  silent  work  of  taking  root  and 
springing  into  the  light  has  been  done.  It  needs  but 
the  care  of  the  fostering  hand  to  insure  a  vigorous 
and  rapid  growth.  This  is  a  time  of  surprising 


172  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

activity  in  all  material  and  educational  interests  in 
the  State.  The  University  must  advance  with  these 
interests/'  And  again:  "The  University  of  Colo- 
rado, too,  has  her  mission.  It  is  to  take  young  men 
from  the  mines,  the  ranges  and  ranches,  young  men 
and  women  from  the  homes  of  honest  toil,  and  offer 
them  the  greatest  blessing  the  State  can  bestow  upon 
its  children.  Colorado  in  the  coming  years  will  feel 
their  influence,  and  the  State  will  reap  its  greatest 
glory  from  its  devotion  to  an  ideal  cause." 

During  the  five  months  preceding  his  formal  in- 
auguration, he  had  formulated  some  of  the  policies 
that  were  to  distinguish  his  administration.  Of  these 
may  be  noted  the  following :  the  University  had  been 
widely  advertised  through  the  cooperation  of  a  gen- 
erous press  and  the  efforts  of  the  Faculty  in  visiting 
different  parts  of  the  State;  the  Medical  School  had 
been  placed  upon  an  excellent  basis  for  superior  work; 
a  Law  School  was  to  be  opened  and  Graduate  courses 
were  to  be  formally  offered  the  following  year;  ar- 
rangements had  been  made  for  an  efficient  increase  in 
the  Arts  faculty;  and  the  gradual  withdrawal  of  the 
preparatory  classes  had  been  begun. 

The  ever-increasing  needs  of  the  University 
throughout  his  administration  have  compelled  him  to 
devote  much  of  his  energy  and  time  to  financial  con- 
siderations. Upon  each  succeeding  legislature  he  has 
urged  the  University's  claims  for  adequate  and  liberal 
financial  support — but  always  in  the  spirit  of  his  in- 


APPENDIX  173 

augural  message:  "The  State  University  does  not 
wish  to  be  greedy;  it  recognizes  that  there  are  many 
other  wants  to  be  met,  and  that  the  State  wishes  to 
be  generous  to  all  its  interests;  it  simply  asks  that  it 
may  receive  in  proportion  to  the  number  and  relative 
cost  of  its  departments,  and  the  magnitude  of  its 
needs."  Wherever  he  went,  he  emphasized  the  needs 
of  the  University  and  its  possibilities  for  state  service. 
In  the  consideration  of  the  problems  which  confront- 
ed him,  he  gave  much  thought  to  the  financial  condi- 
tion of  the  State  and  its  revenue-raising  system.  Sen- 
ator Shafroth,  as  Governor,  said  that  to  President 
Baker  the  State  owes  the  recently-adopted  taxation 
scheme — a  scheme  which  will  ultimately  provide  ade- 
quately for  all  State  needs  and  at  the  same  time  dis- 
tribute the  tax  burden  equitably.  Two  items  from 
the  financial  history  of  the  University,  as  indicative 
of  President  Baker's  work,  may  be  given:  In  1899- 
1 900,  when  the  State  was  unable  to  meet  its  appropria- 
tions and  it  seemed  that  the  University  must  close, 
he  appealed  directly  to  the  citizens  of  the  State  and 
raised  a  loan  fund  of  over  $70,000.  In  1903,  largely 
through  his  efforts,  the  tax  levy  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  University  was  increased  from  one-fifth  to  two- 
fifths  of  a  mill. 

The  physical  growth  of  the  University  during 
the  past  twenty-two  years  is  shown  in  these  figures: 
increase  of  students — regular,  not  including  summer 
session  and  extension  students — from  66  to  1,306; 
increase  of  degrees — from  61  to  2,177;  increase  of 


174  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

annual  income — from  $40,000  to  $305,000;  increase 
of  property — from  $300,000  to  $1,300,000;  increase 
of  buildings — from  8  to  21;  increase  of  bound  vol- 
umes in  the  Library — from  7,000  to  75,000;  increase 
of  faculty — from  32  to  200.  In  1912,  in  proportion 
to  population,  the  attendance  was  64  per  cent,  larger 
than  the  average  in  the  forty  state  universities. 

However,  President  Baker's  claim  on  the  future 
rests  on  higher  ground  than  material  progress.'  He 
might  have  increased  the  attendance  at  the  expense  of 
standards  and  sacrificed  integrity  to  financial  enrich- 
ment. Instead  he  chose  sound  scholarship  and  abso- 
lute freedom  from  political  methods.  His  insistence 
on  these  ideals  has  brought  to  the  University  merited 
recognition  by  national  leaders.  Early  in  his  admin- 
istration the  medical  and  law  courses  were  lengthened 
to  four  and  three  years  respectively,  and  the  entrance 
requirements  made  those  of  the  best  similar  institu- 
tions; later,  two  years  of  college  work  were  demand- 
ed for  admission.  For  almost  eighteen  years  he  bent 
his  energies  to  the  securing  of  adequate  clinical  facili- 
ties for  the  School  of  Medicine;  now,  the  last  two 
years  of  the  course  are  conducted  in  Denver,  the 
School  is  the  only  one  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region, 
and  the  immediate  future  holds  large  promise  for 
the  upbuilding  in  this  State  of  an  institution,  which, 
utilizing  the  peculiar  advantages  that  its  location 
gives  it,  shall  equal  the  best  medical  schools  in  Ameri- 
ca. The  College  of  Liberal  Arts,  throughout  his 
administration,  has  maintained  the  standards  of  the 


APPENDIX  175 

best  colleges  in  the  country,  and  has  met  the  changing 
needs  and  ideals  in  American  education.  Perhaps 
the  central  feature  in  its  progress  was  the  early  adop- 
tion of  the  group-elective  system.  The  Graduate 
School  has  been  firmly  established,  research  work  of 
much  value  to  Colorado  has  already  been  done,  and, 
as  the  State  is  able  to  furnish  adequate  funds,  plans 
for  wide  usefulness  can  be  developed.  In  1893  cn- 
gineering  courses  of  college  grade  were,  through 
the  establishment  of  the  College  of  Engineering, 
first  offered  in  Colorado.  The  work  of  this  depart- 
ment is  now  recognized  by  technical  experts  and 
large  commercial  organizations  throughout  the 
country.  The  Summer  Session,  1904,  because  of  its 
ideal  location  and  its  high  standards,  is  serving  a  wide 
constituency.  The  College  of  Commerce,  1906,  the 
College  of  Education,  1908,  and  the  School  of  Social 
and  Home  Service,  1912,  are  offering  high-grade 
courses  which  give  adequate  training  for  particular 
needs.  The  School  of  Pharmacy,  1911,  is  one  of 
only  eight  pharmaceutical  schools  in  the  country  re- 
quiring a  full  four-year  high-school  course  for  admis- 
sion. The  establishment  of  the  University  Extension 
Division  in  1912,  is  the  recognition  by  the  University 
of  its  obligation  and  opportunity  to  extend  its  campus 
to  the  boundary  lines  of  the  commonwealth.  Of  all 
these  aspects  of  his  work  fuller  treatment  will  be 
found  elsewhere  in  this  Bulletin. 

Scarcely  less  important  is  his  service  as  an  educa- 
tional leader  in  the  State.    All  in  all,  it  would  be  safe 


176  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

to  say  that  there  is  not  a  single  educational  interest  in 
Colorado  that  has  not  been  benefited  by  his  far- 
reaching  influence.  In  1893  only  seven  secondary 
schools  in  the  State  were  on  the  fully  accredited  list 
of  the  University,  now  there  are  sixty-nine.  The 
other  higher  educational  institutions  of  Colorado 
have  followed  his  initiative,  and  have  felt  the  quick- 
ening influence  of  his  progressive  policies. 

By  all  who  have  shared  with  him,  however  little, 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  University,  President  Baker 
will  be  remembered  for  what  he  is  as  much  as  for 
what  he  has  done.  The  inspiration  given  to  fellow 
workers  and  to  students  has  enriched  and  ennobled 
their  lives.  His  influence  on  the  spiritual  develop- 
ment of  the  Institution  can  hardly  now  be  measured. 
Throughout  his  educational  career  he  has  strongly 
advocated  the  social  end  of  education,  and  empha- 
sized the  strength  and  power  and  beauty  of  character, 
and  the  formative  value  of  noble  ideals.  Students 
remember  his  chapel  talks — the  talks  of  a  strong  man 
with  a  sturdy  faith  in  God,  and  aesthetic  apprecia- 
tion of  Nature,  and  a  catholic  sympathy  for  his  fel- 
low men.  He  inspired  them  to  activity  and  social 
service,  to  faith  and  hope  and  better  things,  and  never 
wearied  in  urging  the  democracy  of  education  and  in 
emphasizing  that  the  only  worthy  end  of  educational 
training  is  public  service.  Fellow-workers  on  the 
faculties  remember  frankness  and  exact  justice  in  all 
his  dealings  with  them,  and  encouragement  and  sym- 
pathy in  their  work.  Regents  remember  far-sighted- 


APPENDIX  177 

ness,  keen  judgment,  common  sense,  and  patience  in 
the  formulating  and  carrying  out  of  University  poli- 
cies. Indeed,  when  the  mere  achievement  of  piling 
up  wood  and  stone  is  long  forgotten,  these  charac* 
teristics  and  the  inspiration  of  his  own  personality 
will  be  remembered  and  will  live.  Self-sacrificing  and 
self-effacing,  he  has  regarded  the  University  as  his 
"sacred  trust,"  and  has  given  to  it  all  he  had — him- 
self. 

Letter  of  Resignation 

December  3,  1913. 
To  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  Colorado : 

I  hereby  respectfully  present  my  resignation  as 
President  of  the  University  of  Colorado  to  take  effect 
January  i,  1914.  That  this  year  marks  my  sixty- 
fifth  birthday,  more  than  forty  years  in  the  service, 
and  twenty-two  at  the  University  of  Colorado,  is 
not  a  sufficient  reason  for  selecting  this  particular 
time  to  retire.  But  the  decision  of  another  question, 
is  involved — a  matter  of  private  interests  of  much 
importance  to  me,  which  cannot  well  be  postponed. 
The  present  relation  of  entire  confidence  and  coopera- 
tion with  the  Regents,  continuing  an  almost  unbroken 
record,  is  I  believe  exceptional  and  noteworthy  and 
adds  to  my  natural  regret  in  reaching  this  decision. 
The  ever-ready  cooperation  of  faculties,  the  loyalty 
to  the  University  of  graduates  and  students,  the 
many,  many  instances  of  personal  effort  and  sacrifice 
for  the  University  by  citizens,  the  generally  helpful 


178  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

attitude  of  the  press  constitute  a  history  that  I  shall 
always  re-read  with  pleasure  and  gratitude.  I  predict 
a  strong  development  of  the  University  of  Colorado 
and  a  speedy  realization  of  many  plans  and  promises 
that  have  been  maturing  for  years.  The  high  stand- 
ard of  the  University  is  well  known,  and  formal  rec- 
ognition by  the  Association  of  American  Universities 
and  by  the  Carnegie  Foundation  is  purely  a  question 
of  proper  financial  support  for  the  Graduate  School 
and  the  School  of  Medicine.  Since  I  retire  while  in 
health  and  strength,  I  hope  in  ways  still  to  be  of  serv- 
ice to  the  University  and  the  cause  of  education. 

The  many  problems  of  the  University  which  we 
have  discussed  so  frequently  you,  of  course,  have  well 
in  mind.  The  financial  condition  for  this  period  is 
good,  save  the  contingency  of  non-payment  in  full 
of  appropriations  by  the  State.  The  recent  enactment 
of  a  new  revenue  law,  I  believe,  will  place  the  State 
and  the  institutions  on  a  better  business  basis.  To 
avoid  perpetual  soliciting  of  funds  from  the  Legisla- 
ture, the  University  mill  rate  should  be  adjusted  to 
cover  fully  the  needs.  I  believe  that  a  bond  issue  for 
building  needs  of  the  various  institutions,  such  as  was 
proposed  by  the  last  legislature,  should  be  made. 
This  would  meet  the  constantly  increasing  demand 
for  buildings  at  the  University.  Mrs.  Olivia  Thom- 
son, recently  deceased,  has  made  a  bequest  of 
$75,000  for  a  Chair  in  the  School  of  Law  to  be 
known  as  "The  Charles  Inglis  Thomson  Professor- 
ship of  Law."  I  am  permitted  to  announce  informal- 


APPENDIX  179 

ly  that  our  appeal  for  a  large  gift  to  the  Medical 
School  from  a  certain  trust  fund  will  be  considered 
favorably — that  we  may  be  "very  hopeful."  The 
gifts  already  made  to  the  University  are  numerous 
and  important,  and  there  is  promise  of  even  greater 
help  from  private  sources  in  the  future. 

We  have  already  published  in  order  of  their  im- 
portance the  buildings  required  by  the  University. 
The  completion  of  the  Macky  Auditorium  naturally 
will  soon  be  provided  for  either  by  the  terms  of  the 
bequest  or  by  State  appropriation.  The  movement 
for  a  Decker  Memorial  Building  for  Women,  to  be 
erected  on  the  grounds  of  the  University,  is  being 
conducted  by  a  committee,  which  is  now  raising  funds. 
A  wing  of  the  proposed  Henry  S.  Denison  Building 
for  Medical  Research,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Ella  Strong 
Denison,  will  soon  be  completed. 

The  plan  of  the  campus  you  have  studied  for 
years,  and  have  marked  out  at  least  the  general  fea- 
tures. The  "ravine",  I  believe,  should  be  retained. 
The  new  athletic  field  should  be  prepared  for  use  as 
soon  as  possible;  there  are  great  possibilities  for  at- 
tractive athletic  and  recreation  grounds  on  the  new 
site  by  the  creek. 

The  Summer  School  is  growing  substantially 
every  year,  and  should  be  further  developed  as  a 
permanent  department.  The  Extension  work,  so  well 
inaugurated,  should  be  pushed  as  rapidly  as  condi- 
tions will  permit.  There  arc  new  problems  every 


180  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

year  in  the  development  of  the  Medical  School,  and 
I  believe  a  recent  step  in  advance  has  been  taken,  fol- 
lowing your  careful  study  of  the  conditions  and  needs 
of  the  School.  The  Graduate  School  of  the  Univer- 
sity should  receive  funds  for  its  specific  uses,  and  its 
work,  always  of  high  standard  but  carried  on  under 
difficulties,  should  be  encouraged.  The  work  of  the 
College  of  Liberal  Arts,  revised  within  a  few  years, 
appears  to  be  adapted  to  the  demands  of  the  time. 
A  change  in  the  courses  to  provide  practical  instruc- 
tion for  women  students  is  under  discussion.  The 
further  adjustment  of  the  American  University,  in 
which  I  take  a  strong  interest,  is  a  part  of  the  whole 
problem  of  the  reorganization  of  American  Educa- 
tion. My  views  on  this  subject  appear  in  several 
recent  addresses  and  in  a  report  on  Economy  of  Time 
in  Education,  just  published  by  the  National  Bureau 
of  Education. 

I  must  again  call  your  attention  to  the  salary 
question  in  the  University.  The  scale  is  not  high 
enough  for  the  best  men.  The  demand  upon  a  pro- 
fessor allows  little  time  for  private  business.  Either 
salaries  should  be  raised,  or,  by  some  agency — state, 
private  foundations,  or  organization  within  the 
faculty — retiring  allowances  should  be  provided — 
or  both.  The  "Central  Board"  idea  for  state  schools 
is  problematical,  and  contains  elements  of  extreme 
danger,  especially  to  the  possibilities  of  a  genuine  uni- 
versity. I  strongly  advise  that  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  Regents,  as  a  distinct  governing  Board 


APPENDIX  l8l 

of  the  University,  be  preserved.    This  I  believe  to  be 
vital  to  the  best  development  of  the  Institution. 

Very  respectfully, 

James  H.  Baker, 
President  of  the  University  of  Colorado. 

Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Regent* 

Whereas,  Dr.  James  H.  Baker,  the  trusted  and 
honored  President  of  the  University  of  Colorado,  has 
voluntarily  tendered  his  resignation  to  its  Board  of 
Regents; 

Whereas,  Dr.  Baker  has  held  the  unanimous  high 
respect  of  the  student  body,  and  of  the  Faculty  and 
of  the  Board  of  Regents,  all  of  whom  have  taken 
pride  in  his  wise  leadership; 

Whereas,  Dr.  Baker  has  brought  our  University 
to  a  point  where  it  not  only  brings  glory  to  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Colorado,  but  where  it  also  commands 
the  high  regard  of  educators  all  over  our  country; 

Whereas,  Dr.  Baker  has  so  conducted  himself  in 
his  high  position  and  has  so  served  the  community 
that  our  State  recognizes  him  as  one  of  the  best,  most 
faithful  and  patriotic  of  her  citizens,  while  outside 
the  State  he  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  educators; 

Therefore,  Be  It  Resolved,  That  it  is  with  feel- 
ings of  sadness  and  unfeigned  regret  that  we  feel 
compelled  to  accept  this  resignation.  But,  after 


1 82  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

twenty-two  years  of  faithful  service  to  his  State  and 
the  University  in  this  high  position,  we  feel  that  a 
decent  regard  to  his  personal  feelings  should  be  dis- 
played and  he  be  permitted  to  avail  himself  of  the 
reward  that  has  been  offered  solely  as  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction to  his  eminent  standing  in  the  educational 
world. 

Neither  time  nor  space  will  permit  us  to  review 
what  has  been  accomplished  at  the  University  during 
the  twenty-two  years  that  have  passed  since  Dr. 
Baker  became  President.  It  is  enough  to  say  that 
when  he  came  here  the  University  was  but  a  begin- 
ning with  sixty-six  students;  when  he  leaves  it  is  a 
University  with  1,306  students.  No  one  knows 
better  than  we,  the  Board  of  Regents,  how  much  of 
this  growth  can  be  directly  attributed  to  his  energy, 
ability  and  unflagging  zeal.  We  also  know  with  what 
difficulties  he  has  had  at  times  to  contend,  but, 
despite  it  all,  his  courage  never  failed,  his  faith  never 
wavered.  Like  the  Romans  of  old,  he  never 
despaired  of  the  Republic.  And  after  all  he  emerged 
triumphant,  the  Institution  §  continued  its  growth, 
under  his  inspiration  the  people  furnished  the  money, 
the  students  came,  and  we  have  one  of  the  foremost 
universities  of  the  West. 

A  most  remarkable  tribute  to  the  personality  of 
President  Baker  is  apparent  when  we  remember  the 
absolute  harmony  that  has  prevailed  in  all  directions 
under  his  administration.  During  this  period  eleven 


APPENDIX  183 

legislatures  have  passed  into  history,  thousands  of 
students  have  come  and  gone,  hundreds  of  profes- 
sors have  taught  their  courses,  scores  of  regents  have 
held  office;  but  through  it  all  no  word  of  faction, 
no  breath  of  scandal,  has  even  been  heard  against  the 
institution  or  its  head.  And  now,  after  twenty-two 
years  of  labor,  and  with  a  faculty  of  over  two  hun- 
dred and  a  student  body  of  over  thirteen  hundred, 
President  Baker  retires,  an  object  of  admiration  and 
affection  of  both  students  and  faculty,  and  carrying 
with  him  unmixed  regret  and  sorrow  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  and  the  State  officers  of  the  State  of 
Colorado.  There  exists  a  much  stronger  commenda- 
tion of  his  work,  well  expressed  in  the  words  used 
about  the  great  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  but  applicable 
to  Dr.  Baker  in  the  full  strength  and  vigor  of  his 
life — "If  you  would  seek  his  monument,  look  about 
you." 

In  losing  Dr.  Baker  we,  as  the  representatives  of 
the  people  of  Colorado,  desire  to  bestow  upon  him 
such  evidence  and  marks  of  our  esteem  as  we  pos- 
sibly can.  We  have  therefore  given  him  the  title 
of  President-Emeritus,  with  one  year's  allowance  of 
salary.  Our  only  regret  is  that  our  duty  to  the  In- 
stitution and  those  that  are  left  prohibits  us  from 
doing  more. 

And  in  conclusion,  we  are  going  to  spread  these 
few  remarks  upon  our  records  as  a  permanent 
memorial  to  a  faithful  servant  for  work  nobly  done, 


I  84  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

and  for  the  perusal  and  guidance  of  his  successors 
in  years  to  come.  We  are  not  saying  good  bye,  for 
we  expect  at  all  times  to  have  the  benefit  of  sug- 
gestions and  help  of  the  energy  of  Dr.  Baker.  But 
for  whatever  work  he  undertakes,  or  whatever  he 
determines  to  do,  we  wish  him  Godspeed  and  the 
same  success  that  has  always  crowned  his  efforts  at 
the  University. 

Address  from  the  Faculty* 

To  James  Hutchins  Baker, 
President  of  the  University  of  Colorado. 
It  was  the  unanimous  feeling  of  your  Faculty  that 
the  twentieth  anniversary  of  your  installation  could 
not  be  allowed  to  pass  without  some  slight  expression 
of  our  appreciation  and  goodwill;  and  we  would  ac- 
cordingly ask  you  to  accept  our  heartiest  congratula- 
tions coupled  with  our  sincerest  wishes  for  the  future. 
Moreover,  we  would  respectfully  crave  the  special 
and  intimate  privilege  of  extending  our  felicitations 
to  Mrs.  Baker.  To  her,  hardly  less  than  to  you,  it 
must  be  a  supreme  pleasure  to  look  back  upon  the 
struggles  and  achievements  of  these  twenty  years. 
But  of  this,  and  of  other  phases  of  your  life  together, 

*  In  January,  1912,  the  University  and  its  friends  cele- 
brated the  twentieth  anniversary  of  President  Baker's  serv- 
ice. A  faculty  dinner  on  January  10,  appropriate  student  ex- 
ercises and  a  luncheon  tendered  by  the  Denver  Chamber  of 
Commerce  on  January  19,  and  an  alumni  dinner  on  January 
20  were  given  in  his  honor.  At  the  Faculty  dinner  an  en- 
grossed address  was  presented  to  President  Baker.  This 
address  is  given  here  as  an  expression  of  Faculty  apprecia- 
tion. 


APPENDIX.  185 

we  may  not  speak;  for  they  are  sacred  and  your  own 
hearts  know  them  best. 

Similar  tributes  will  doubtless  be  showered  upon 
you  from  many  sources;  but  we  may  be  permitted  to 
feel  that  our  own  is  inspired  by  particularly  intimate 
knowledge.  It  would  be  easy  to  rehearse  the  numer- 
ical growth  in  staff  and  students  during  your  incum- 
bency, or  to  enlarge  upon  the  improvement  in  equip- 
ment or  the  multiplication  of  buildings.  In  these  re- 
spects your  twenty  years  have  been  remarkable,  or 
even  phenomenal,  a  fact  that  is  visible  to  all.  Nor 
would  we  belittle  their  significance.  Those  of  us 
who  realize  the  conditions  in  years  gone  by  must  be 
the  first  to  proclaim  the  tremendous  importance  of 
this  material  progress  under  your  guidance.  And  yet 
we  feel  that  this  phase  represents  only  the  less  sig- 
nificant of  your  achievements.  All  these  ends  might 
have  been  attained  only  to  leave  the  University  a 
fundamental  failure.  It  might  have  stood  in  fair 
semblance  of  life  and  health,  and  been  only  a  soul- 
less hulk  withal;  its  growth  might  have  been 
purchased  by  the  sacrifice  of  scholarly  ideals  on  the 
one  hand,  or  of  probity  and  independence  on  the 
other.  But,  your,  Sir,  even  in  the  sober  self-criticism 
of  maturer  years,  may  well  be  thrilled  with  the  proud 
knowledge  that  standards  are  not  being  bartered  for 
numbers,  and  that  buildings  are  not  being  erected  at 
the  price  of  integrity. 

You  have  fought  persistently,  even  desperately, 
for  necessary  funds;  but  you  have  always  refused  to 


I  86  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

obtain  them  by  dragging  the  University  into  the 
difficult  and  devious  path  of  politics.  Through 
every  crisis  you  have  kept  your  own  name  and  the 
honor  of  the  University  free  from  any  taint  of  meth- 
ods that  may  achieve  success  for  the  passing  hour, 
but  eventually  prove  fatal  to  the  health  of  the  soul 
alike  of  an  individual  or  of  an  institution. 

You  have  not  failed  to  provide  for  the  current 
needs  of  the  University,  but  you  have  never  lost 
sight  of  the  future.  Indeed  it  may  well  turn  out  that 
a  consistent  regard  for  the  future  has  been  the  finest 
feature  of  your  presidential  policy. 

You  have  evinced  your  firm  conviction  that  a 
state  university  must  always  consult  the  interests  of 
the  people,  and  meet  their  reasonable  demands;  but 
you  have  never  shrunk  from  telling  the  people  that 
they  must  rise  in  the  scale  of  their  desires. 

You  have  striven  as  no  other  President  in  the 
country  for  the  strengthening  and  upbuilding  of  the 
High  School  system,  regardless  of  thanks  or  recog- 
nition. 

In  dealing  with  the  students  you  have  been  willing 
to  incur  extreme  unpopularity,  if  it  seemed  for  their 
own  ultimate  good;  but  those  of  us  who  know  you 
best  realize  that  in  secret  disciplinary  conference  you 
are  always  the  representative  of  mercy. 

With  reference  to  ourselves  as  members  of  the 
Faculty,  we  feel  that  you  have  never  shirked  telling 
us  our  duties,  individually  or  collectively;  but  in- 


APPENDIX  187 

variably  you  have  been  the  first  to  forget  a  difference, 
your  word  has  always  been  inviolable,  and  we  have 
always  felt  that  if  any  of  us  should  be  unfairly  at- 
tacked from  without,  we  had  in  you  a  just  and  staunch 
defender. 

Above  all,  both  in  the  University  and  everywhere 
else  you  have  been  the  untiring  champion  of  ideals  of 
personal  character  and  civic  duty.  Your  voice  has 
often  been  raised  on  behalf  of  pure  science  or  humane 
studies;  but  you  have  always  demanded  that  neither 
scientist  nor  humanist  should  forget  his  obligation 
to  share  in  the  common  lot  and  promote  the  general 
weal. 

It  has  been  pleasing  to  us  when  your  qualities 
and  services  have  been  recognized  by  the  wider 
circles  beyond  the  limits  of  our  own  campus  and  be- 
yond the  borders  of  our  own  State,  but  whether  they 
had  been  applauded  or  decried,  we  should  have  ap- 
preciated them  none  the  less.  We  feel,  Sir,  that  we 
have  been  privileged  to  witness  one  of  the  finest 
sights  in  human  experience,  even  a  strong  man  grap- 
pling with  an  arduous  task,  and  growing  in  great- 
ness as  his  problems  and  difficulties  increased  in  ex- 
tent and  stress. 

Some  day  the  careful  historian  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Colorado  will  record  the  solemn  judgment 
that  President  James  H.  Baker  placed  the  State  Uni- 
versity on  such  sound  foundations,  equipped  it  with 
such  a  sane  organization,  and  inspired  it  with  such 


I  88  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

fine  ideals  of  public  service,  that  its  career  was 
assured  for  many  generations.  And  some  writer  will 
compare  that  president  to  a  Doric  column,  not  de- 
pending for  approval  on  Corinthian  foliage  or  Ionic 
volutes,  but  standing  in  fine  simplicity  beneath  the 
corner  of  the  temple  to  be  praised  or  blamed  for  its 
fundamental  merits  of  line  and  proportion  and 
strength.  He  might  well  add  that  those  who  looked 
upon  the  column  from  near  at  hand  always  realized 
that  it  would  carry  its  burden,  however  great, 
securely  and  unfalteringly  to  the  end  of  its  day. 

We  trust  that  you  will  recognize  how  warmly  we 
do  congratulate  you  and  how  sincerely  we  hope  that 
a  generous  tale  of  years  may  be  added  to  the  score 
so  happily  accomplished. 

The  Faculty  of  the  University  of  Colorado. 

By  its  Committee. 

Letters 

(Received  after  "Appreciation  of  Services"  was 
printed.). 

President  Benjamin  I.  Wheeler,  University  of 
California. — He  has  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  and 
proud  concerning  the  work  he  has  done  at  Boulder. 
He  has  created  an  institution  of  quality.  It  is  his 
work  primarily;  we  of  the  profession  all  know  this. 
I  congratulate  him  with  all  my  heart  upon  a  fine  task 
splendidly  completed. 


APPENDIX  189 

President  H.  B.  Hutchins,  University  of  Michi- 
gan.— May  I  congratulate  him  upon  his  long  and  suc- 
cessful career  as  the  head  of  a  great  university  and 
upon  his  most  effective  work  in  the  educational  field. 

Le  Recteur  et  Le  Conseil  de  I'Universite  de 
Besangon. — Avec  leurs  remerciements  et  leurs  felici- 
tations a  Monsieur  le  President,  James  Hutchins 
Baker. 

President  M.  L.  Burton,  Smith  College. — May  I 
have  the  honor  of  expressing  to  him  my  most  hearty 
congratulations  and  felicitations  upon  the  remarkably 
successful  administration  from  which  he  is  retiring. 

Professor  J.  Y.  Stanton,  Bates  College. — Recent- 
ly I  sent  you  and  Mrs.  Baker  a  book.  I  sent  it  as  a 
slight  appreciation  of  the  great  pleasure  you  had 
given  me  personally,  and  of  my  appreciation  of  the 
honor  your  marked  success  as  President  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Colorado  has  conferred  on  Bates  College. 

Dr.  Charles  S.  Palmer,  formerly  Professor  of 
Chemistry,  University  of  Colorado. — I  value  his 
work  for  Colorado  and  the  University,  as  it  should 
be  valued,  as  being  eminently  strong,  broad,  noble, 
patient,  and  successful. 

George  C.  Taylor,  formerly  Professor  of  Eng- 
lish, University  of  Colorado. — My  feelings  for  the 
University  have  been  and  always  will  be  mighty 
strong,  but  I  could  never  think  of  the  institution  be- 


IQO  OF  HIMSELF  AND  OTHER  THINGS. 

ing  just  what  it  used  to  be  to  me,  now  that  he  has 
left  it. 

Charles  C.  Adams,  Alumnus  of  the  University 
of  Colorado. — We  all  understand  the  great  con- 
tribution that  he  has  made  to  the  cause,  especially  to 
the  University  of  Colorado,  and  in  the  larger  field 
as  well. 

Ex-Governor  Alva  Adams,  Colorado. — So  long 
has  he  been  the  Atlas  of  that  institution  that  it  will 
seem  strange  to  have  his  relations  sundered. 

From  the  Denver  High  School 

(On  leaving  for  the  University,  January,    1892.) 

Edward  P.  Costigan,  Student,  representing  the 
school  and  teachers. — *  *  *  Upon  this  last 
occasion  in  which  we  are  to  see  you  as  our  Principal, 
it  has  been  requested  that,  as  representative  of  this 
school,  I  should  present  you  with  a  little  testimonial 
of  the  great  personal  regard  felt  for  you  by  every 
one  present.  *  *  *  In  your  departure  from  our 
midst,  every  member  of  this  school  feels  a  loss 
greater  and  deeper  than  language  can  express.  Al- 
most every  tongue  has  paid  tribute  to  your  service. 
*  *  *  How  suggestive  today  do  the  deeds, 
which  we  deemed  but  yesterday  at  your  hands  unim- 
portant, become!  It  is  only  fitting  at  this  time  that 
we  should  tell  you  how  the  remembrance  of  you  is 
destined  to  be  preserved  among  us.  Your  seventeen 
years  connection  with  the  school,  your  raising  it  from 


APPENDIX 

nothingness  until  it  stands  without  a  superior  in  the 
land  make  certain  that  your  name  and  influence  here 
are  destined  to  be  more  lasting  than  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  building;  and,  what  is  more  important, 
while  memory  lasts  to  these  pupils,  your  fame,  your 
zeal  in  their  behalf,  your  friendliness  are  destined  to 
be  treasured  up.  We  lose  today,  each  and  every  one 
of  us,  a  friend  and  we  know  it.  We  see  the  departure 
from  our  midst  of  high  scholarship,  of  ripe  and  con- 
siderate judgment,  of  careful  and  thoughtful  atten- 
tion to  our  needs  which  we  never  knew  until  now  how 
to  value.  Those  moral  teachings,  which  you  have 
uttered  day  after  day  from  this  platform,  come  back 
to  us  now  with  redoubled  force.  We  shall  not  forget 
them.  *  *  *  Never  has  there  been  a  more 
truly  spontaneous  expression  of  feeling,  and  all  that 
we  can  wish  you  now,  in  addition,  is,  as  is  our  con- 
fident expectation,  that,  as  you  go  to  your  new  field 
of  labor,  you  may  see  the  dawn  of  the  brightest,  the 
happiest,  and  the  most  prosperous  period  of  your 
already  highly  successful  life. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 

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22Ma/60JO 
IN  STACKS 

MAY8    1980 

U.£C'P  LD 

MAY  .1-2  1960 


fcfc. 


,  •.  -  ^        -. 


10m-4,'23 


515700 


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